Gary Valenciano’s mother dies at 84

The loving mother of Gary Valenciano passed away in Orlando USA. Grimilda Santiago y Olmo died due to pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and H1n1 flu. She was 84 years old. On Instagram, Gary posted a touching message for his mom:

“Today at 12:42pm here in Orlando (12:42am in Manila) …my mom was welcomed home in to the arms of her Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

I know this may come as a shock for some of you, as she has always been seen as someone with a lot of life to live. She was always the life of any gathering, but last week was really tough on her as she had to battle it out against pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and H1n1 flu…all of which came almost at the same time on her 84yr old body.

I want to thank the few that first became aware of what we were all facing these past few days and sent us encouraging messages of hope. Now the news is spreading that Mom, or Tita Grimi, or Mamita to others, has gone home.

On her 80th birthday 4 years ago these inspiring words were displayed on the reception table of her celebration…

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”

Somehow this sums up how she lived…and how she loved.

Her crazy comments, her jokes, her words of encouragement, her laughter, her habit of standing by the driveway waving goodbye to us until our car turns the corner, are just some of the things we all will miss. I’m sure my siblings have countless other things to add on to this list.

But we thank you all…our friends, our neighbors, and most especially our cousins like the Valenciano, Martin and Anson families, who simply always responded to her words and actions of love, by loving her back in your most special of ways.

A new season in our lives has begun. We now move on, forward to life with mom not being around us…but in us.

It will take some getting used to but I believe if we can practice to love each other the way she loved us, which was always as unconditional as can be, we will get by with more laughter, yes with some tears, with thankfulness, and gratitude for having had her with us for these many years.

The hue of this picture of our family’s history may look painful and sorrowful…but because we allowed God to be in our midst, He took this event in His hands and turned it into a masterpiece.

Thank you Jesus…yours is all the glory. And thank You for this most precious and priceless woman who you destined to become our mother.”

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Today at 12:42pm here in Orlando (12:42am in Manila) …my mom was welcomed home in to the arms of her Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I know this may come as a shock for some of you, as she has always been seen as someone with a lot of life to live. She was always the life of any gathering, but last week was really tough on her as she had to battle it out against pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and H1n1 flu…all of which came almost at the same time on her 84yr old body. I want to thank the few that first became aware of what we were all facing these past few days and sent us encouraging messages of hope. Now the news is spreading that Mom, or Tita Grimi, or Mamita to others, has gone home. On her 80th birthday 4 years ago these inspiring words were displayed on the reception table of her celebration… “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” Somehow this sums up how she lived…and how she loved. Her crazy comments, her jokes, her words of encouragement, her laughter, her habit of standing by the driveway waving goodbye to us until our car turns the corner, are just some of the things we all will miss. I’m sure my siblings have countless other things to add on to this list. But we thank you all…our friends, our neighbors, and most especially our cousins like the Valenciano, Martin and Anson families, who simply always responded to her words and actions of love, by loving her back in your most special of ways. A new season in our lives has begun. We now move on, forward to life with mom not being around us…but in us. It will take some getting used to but I believe if we can practice to love each other the way she loved us, which was always as unconditional as can be, we will get by with more laughter, yes with some tears, with thankfulness, and gratitude for having had her with us for these many years. The hue of this picture of our family’s history may look painful and sorrowful…but because we allowed God to be in our midst, He took this event in His hands and turned it into a masterpiece. Thank you Jesus…yours is all the glory. And thank You for this most precious and priceless woman who you destined to become our mother.??❤️

A post shared by Gary Valenciano (@garyvalenciano) on Apr 17, 2019 at 4:06pm PDT

(Photo source: Instagram – @garyvalenciano)