Published: Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009
A celebration of life
Loved ones remember family members who’ve passed on at the annual Day of the Dead observance in San Luis Obispo
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closeIt’s called Día de los Muertos — the Day of the Dead — in Spanish, but the Hospice of San Luis Obispo County got into the spirit of the Latin American event as they celebrated the lives of deceased loved ones on Monday.
The annual Hospice event featured memories of longtime local health care advocate Isabel Ruiz and Hospice office manager Marilyn Greenberg — who both died this year.
Event coordinator Lidia Arango McCune also described the history of “Día de los Muertos,” a Latin American holiday in which people set up altars in homes and visit grave sites to celebrate the lives of deceased loved ones.
The event combines Aztec culture and Catholicism, McCune explained.
“The Aztecs believed that life is a dream and that you begin your real existence when you die because when you die you live forever,” McCune said.
At Hospice, an altar was set up with candles, food, traditional candy sugar skulls and flowers. The four levels of the altar represent the four stages of life— birth, childhood, adulthood and old age.
As part of the celebration at Hospice, many looked back on fond memories of their loved ones.
Napoleon Ruiz remembered his wife of 36 years and her passion for her family, career and community.
“What kept us together was our unconditional love and faith in God,” Ruiz said.
Steve Willey, Hospice’s volunteer coordinator, read a poem written by Greenberg called “Threads” about her late husband, Fletcher Peck, and his desire to cut off a piece of a bathrobe.
“Four winters have come and gone now, and it still keeps me warm on chilly mornings,” Willey wrote. “Those first months I slept in it, I cradled it in my arms, I wrapped myself in its folds, crying into the warmth of his smell, until there was just the memory of his smell.”
Some in attendance placed on the altar keepsakes including cookbooks, photos, tequila glasses and a flute in memory of loved ones.
Linda Quesenberry brought a cookbook in memory of her late mother, who cooked delicious tamales and other Mexican foods. Her late father was fond of mariachi, she recalled.
“I thank God they’re together in heaven now,” Quesenberry said.
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