Marissa really left us too soon. It feels surreal that we won’t be able to hear her speak, laugh, cry, complain, or even make those witty, off-the-cuff raunchy comments as she was known to do. Her passing has indeed left a huge, gaping hole in the hearts of her family and ours as well; however, the impact she had on all the lives of the people who loved her—and consequently loved her back—is immeasurable. I consider myself so very fortunate to have so many fond memories of her to look back on, and I think it’s those memories are what will help us fill that hole as time goes on.

As a kid, I remember writing her letters every now and then telling her about the random things going on in my life; trips we took, a new video game I had gotten, my assortment of hockey cards—there really wasn’t any sensible rhyme, reason, or flow to my letters. They were basically the written ramblings of whatever my brain could manage to focus on the span of 10 minutes before it decided to move on to the next thing, whatever that was. The first time I mailed a letter, I remember thinking to myself: ‘Why did I even say that stuff? She probably thinks I’m dumb or something. She probably won’t even write back.’ <shrug>

To my surprise—not even a week later, I remember I got a letter back from Marissa. Upon opening it, it was basically the equivalent mess of a letter I had written. Oh, she got me! I think the most memorable thing about Marissa was always how accepting she could be. She didn’t write me off as “that” shy, quiet, nerdy relative from cold, wintry Canada, but she always managed to break through whatever armor an introvert like me would don (I mean, has that changed?) through her sheer humor and dorkiness. It was always a matter of time before me and her (and Tina too, of course) would be running around and doing stuff that would get us in trouble with either Tita Ely, my mom, or God forbid, Lola Corazon.

To Greg, Ben, Mila, Tita Ely, Tito Lito, Tina—our sympathies are with you. We’ll always be here to support you in your time of need.