A Eulogy for My Mom
Written on July 31, 2023. at 12:14pm, and read at her funeral that evening. Her name was Nilda Maria Silva Nuñez, and she lived from 1939 to 2023.
Good evening.
Mami, as we her children called her, was a strong, loving, faithful woman.
Her strength was amazing. Going to the city of Santiago at an early age for schooling showed tremendous resilience. Then later leaving Cuba to come to the United States, leaving her family behind, her mother, my grandmother Otilia, her siblings, aunts, uncles behind, at a time when Cuba faced great political uncertainty… These were difficult times where her strength was clutch. She was a hard worker, starting beautician businesses in Puerto Rico, Orlando Florida, and later Miami, helping to put a roof over our heads, food on the table, and having a little left over to help someone in need or go on holiday. “Little general,” I used to think to myself — the heartbeat of a family she would be determined to keep together despite many challenges. Her strength was amazing.
She was incredibly loving. I’ve heard so many people call her a “second mother” over the years. Because that’s who she was — a loving mother to all who would receive her grace. I have a fond memory from when I was 12 years old, in Middle School. It was a typical school morning. My mom pulled up in the car line to drop me off, and as I was getting out, we noticed a group of girls ganging up on a friend of mine, not too far from the drop off point. My mom would not stand for it! She parked her car, blocking the path, got out and started dishing out justice. The details are hazy, but I remember that group of girls dispersing very quickly. She was strong, as you know. You didn’t mess with my mom. At that moment I was very embarrassed — mortified. But my friend was so grateful. Over the years we would recall that story many times, all through middle school and high school. In fact, I’m pretty sure he would remember this experience to this day, some 30-plus years later. It was memorable, and a perfect anecdote of my mom’s love for all. Truly, she saw them all as her children. Some of you in the room know precisely what I’m talking about. And I all the more, knowing first-hand what an incredibly loving mother she was.
And that motherly, nurturing love extended past her family and friends. There was a period of time in the 90s where my family would sponsor migrant families from Cuba, helping them find shelter, food, clothing. One in particular comes to mind. They had a son who was roughly my age. I witnessed how a little love from my mom helped smooth out an incredibly difficult transition for young teens coming from Cuba and into the United States. Or that time that we gave our small home to a small missionary group for the night, so that they could sleep over and park their van ahead of a mission trip to the Dominican Republic the next day, and again when they returned 30 days later. She was incredibly loving.
Her faithfulness was inspirational. She was faithful to my father in a loving marriage for almost 65 years, she was faithful to us as a matriarch of a large and beautiful family, but most importantly, she was a faithful servant of my Lord Jesus Christ. Her faith was inspirational. She brought the gospel of Jesus to many places in our family, both her side, and my dad’s side. She raised us in a beautifully religious home where God was our judge and our redeemer. She took her bible everywhere, worn down from years of use, and a prayer or small praise song was never far from her lips. I grew up watching her put her faith into action, and while, among believers, we all have our own personal experience in our relationship with Jesus, I could swear I could see my mom’s experience with Jesus on a nearly daily basis, particularly as a very young child. The fruit of my mother’s faith abounds — from the loving experiences that we’ve felt, to the many lives that have been touched because of her willingness to be God’s hand while she was here on Earth. This… is easily her greatest legacy. Her faithfulness was inspirational.
I am saddened that you left us, Mami. I’m a little angry. Selfishly, I didn’t want you to go, limited as you were in the end. God has called you home, and I have peace that you are now able to fully express your life, what God intended, with His angels in heaven. I thank you, Lord, for giving us the opportunity to know such a beautiful soul.
I love you, Mami. I will miss you. Until we meet again.
