Damiana Amor Bumotad

April 12, 1930 - January 28, 2021

Remembrance for Damiana

You left too soon and I forever regret being so far for so long. I know you blessed everyone around you. Anyone who knew you loved you.

We remember Damiana for her generosity and her radiant warmth. That phrase—she radiates warmth—came from a dear friend of mine, who met Damiana a few times in the past, when I showed my friend her picture yesterday. We remember her joy and her wit, her stubborn humility, her famous kitchen brilliance.  Her voice was music when she spoke and angels when she sang.

Here is a story she told me long ago, a child’s eye on World War II: bombs fell and “cut the trees” (that was her phrase, and I saw the tall palms swaying). “My Tatay was so scared!” she said, that he leapt into the water for the carabao. When he came out, she told me, “we were laughing!”—children amazed to see their mighty father all muddy and wet.

On our last phone call we reminisced the time we canoed the Huron River in Ann Arbor, dodging tree branches and avoiding capsize, unlike my own Nanay and Tatay in the other boat. Then she was 76.

Damiana, I am heartbroken we will have no more stories and adventures together, that my son will not play by your feet. If only I can carry it along with me, I will pass along what I can of your beautiful soul, especially to my son. This is as much a remembrance as a prayer. I am grateful for everyone who cared for her. She cared infinitely for us.