I want to thank everyone who joined us for my husband, Faust, Celebration of Life Service. It was a beautiful day celebrating his life. For those who couldn't make it I wanted to share the eulogy I read during the service. 💙
I met Faust on a blind date. My friend, Yoli, set us up. I remember her telling me “I know just the right guy; he will wine and dine you.” I was a little hesitant because blind dates are rarely successful, but I agreed. The date was set at 5-10 Bistro restaurant for Alex’s birthday party. For those who don’t know Alex he is Yoli’s husband.
When I arrived at the bar, I immediately noticed a gentleman who most would describe as “the life of the party.” He had tequila shots lined up at the bar and was passing them around to his friends. All I could think was who was this handsome man who exuded nothing but confidence and fun. To my surprise, that man was my date. We hit it off immediately and that was the beginning of our beautiful love story.
The next months were filled with spontaneous dates, incredible food, heartfelt conversations, and of course lots of delicious wine. I learned that Faust was an exceptional chef, wine connoisseur, incredibly smart, a UC Davis Aggie, an eagle scout, Star Wars fanatic, 49er faithful, Giants fan, CrossFitter who was also scared of sharks, and he and his best friend Edson threw some of the most epic Halloween and pool parties in Merced. Faust loved to travel, and his life was filled with adventures. Faust’s dad was a pilot which meant that growing up, he got to see and explore the world. Faust lived in London, Saudi Arabia, Paris, and Spain. He was fascinating and it didn’t take long for me to start falling in love with this amazing man. His quiet sophisticated confidence and charm were just irresistible. It was no surprise that only one year later I found myself, at the very same restaurant we met, saying yes to his marriage proposal.
Faust’s dream of having a family was realized through our three beautiful children Mishka, Faust, and Atlas. The years that followed were filled with days of splashing water on the Santa Barbara Beach, countless trips to his favorite place on earth Tahoe and the occasional wine trips to Napa. He wanted our family, especially our kids, to create the beautiful memories. He wanted us to enjoy and live life to the fullest. Faust’s greatest commitment was to his children. He was our daughter, Mishka’s, biggest cheerleader at games. He was one of the loudest and proudest dads in the stands. Our son, Faust, loves comic books and he could always count on his daddy to buy him all his favorite books and read with him at night. Atlas, our youngest son, loves soccer. Faust was teaching him the game and would spend hours practicing in the backyard with him. Faust made our kids feel special and always supported their interests and passions. No matter how busy he was, he always made time for us. Friday movie nights and sleepovers in our bedroom, summer pool days, morning coffees with the kids in bed were traditions in our home. We found the most joy in doing things together. Our family was Faust’s greatest treasure.
Faust also hoped to someday have a big and close-knit extended family. He lost his parents Clarita and Robert, years ago. That dream came true when he married me. I had more than enough relatives for him. My parents became his mom and dad and my siblings his brothers and sisters. My family embraced Faust and he loved them dearly for it. He spent years giving life advice to our nephews and motivating them. One of the many things he cherished about my big family was that we enjoyed being together and celebrating each other. We never missed an opportunity to party and Faust, if you haven’t figured it out by now, loved to have a good time. It’s no surprise that we often found ourselves hosting events at our home. Faust believed that one of the best ways to bond with others was over good food and great wine. He found so much happiness in cooking for our family and friends and making our home a place where they all felt special and welcomed. Even though Faust didn’t have close blood relatives, he had friends who became his family. They called themselves The Tribe and Faust loved them so much. The Tribe had the same zest for life and adventure that Faust did and we shared so many unforgettable memories with them like vacations to Tahoe, Sunday Day Fun Days, and cook offs. Our friends, Edson and Danielle, loved finding new recipes, sharing them with us and coming over to make those recipes together. They knew how to turn an uneventful weekend into a special gathering. Faust slowly took Gilberto under his wing and started teaching him and my sister Natalie how to cook. That was Faust in a nutshell, he found so much joy in sharing his passions and knowledge with others.
Faust was the most attentive, supportive, and caring husband. I remember telling him countless times throughout our marriage, “thank you honey, thank you for the beautiful life you give us.” I had the privilege of finding what some people spend their whole lives searching for, a true and eternal love. A partner and a best friend who knew everything about me, down to the smallest details. When we went to restaurants, Faust would often order my drink and food based on what he thought I’d like; he was the foodie, not me. He always got it right. Faust made sure that wherever we went, we sat near the biggest windows with the most natural light because he knew I didn’t like dark spaces. When he went grocery shopping, he’d never forget to include my favorite flowers and chocolates. Every time I was getting ready for date night he came into the room with a glass of my favorite champagne. He always joked that I had too many dinnerware sets, table décor, and tea sets for hosting, but he knew that setting a beautiful tablescape for our parties brought me so much happiness. We discovered that our favorite thing to do on quiet weekends was to sip champagne in what we called our chateau while we listened to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. I was Faust’s world and in all our years of marriage, he demonstrated it through his words and his actions. Our marriage was more than just a beautiful story, it was a commitment to cherish each other, appreciate the blessing of having one another, and loving unconditionally.
Faust made the world and the people he touched better with his presence and friendship. He was such an intelligent man and so passionate about his profession and serving others. But what made him truly loved was that he cared about people deeply. His colleagues, his employees, students, family, and friends. He had a special way of making you feel like his family, and he saw every person as someone who deserved the opportunity to grow, use their talents, and become their very best self. Faust had a unique gift of bringing people together and building relationships. There are countless students who have graduated and many of his employees who have moved on to better opportunities because Faust was their mentor and advocate. So many people have shared with me over the last month that because Faust believed in them, they had the courage to believe in themselves. He was a servant leader, a champion, and an exceptional role model.
Mishka, Faust, and Atlas, do you see all the people here today? They are here because they knew and loved daddy so much. Please remember when you go through life and need help, advice, or guidance, look around you and know that every person in this room is here for you because of the love and gratitude they have for daddy. Friends and family, I ask that when you see our kids you talk to them about their dad and keep him alive in their hearts by sharing special memories you have of Faust.
To you My Love, My World, I think I speak for everyone when I say that this world isn’t the same without you in it. That things are just different now. That it’s still hard to comprehend life without you, that we are all heartbroken. But all of that is because of the incredible person you were and the impact you made on us. I feel so honored and blessed to be your wife and to have walked by your side all these years even though I wish we would have had more time. I thank you for the beautiful life that you gave us, a beautiful life that the kids and I will carry on because you taught us to cherish the time we have and not take a moment for granted. We know you'll be in our hearts forever and that will give us the strength and courage to find joy in living. Thank you for choosing me to be your wife, the mother of your children, and for leaving me with memories that I will treasure forever. We had a beautiful marriage, filled with love and respect. Our children got to witness our true, pure, and unconditional love. I feel blessed to know that you loved me so much and demonstrated it in all the ways possible every single day. You also knew how much I love you and that together we created our favorite love story. When I take my morning coffee, I will be thinking of you. When I hear a champagne bottle pop, I’ll be thinking of you. When we visit Tahoe, I will be thinking of you. I will think of you every single day because that is how I’m going to get through life. I am so proud of you and I know that you fought until the very end for us. You taught me how to have the spirit of a fighter. This isn’t how I thought our love story would end but I would do it all over again and endure every painful moment of the last 11 months just to have another minute with you. I thank God he chose me for you. I thank him that I was by your side, holding your hand, until you took your last breath. I know one day we will be together again and this time it will be forever. Until then, I will take care of our kids and honor you. I will carry on and instill in them the values and life lessons you taught them. I promise you that I will continue to teach Mishka how to be a strong, intelligent, and independent woman. I will raise our boys to be true gentlemen just like you. I will build on the beautiful life you gave us. Thank you for being my biggest blessing. I will miss you every minute of every day until I see you again. I love you. My forever True Gentleman, My Love.