1922 - 2018
The Legacy lives on...
Castora Guillermo Suero
AKA Casey + Grandma Suero
BORN: March 28, 1922 in the Philippines
RAISED: Waipahu, Oahu
Husband: Catalino Suero (1993)
Children: Andrita Perreira (2010), Carmencita Padilla, Kathleen Aceret, Catalino II (1946) Catalino III Suero, Charlmaine Bulosan
Grandchildren: Ryan, Wesley, Trisha, Laurie, Heidi, Aurene, Aaron, Rhonda, Rhonelle, Chris, Roxanne, Sean, Adams Jr. Adrian, Addison, Clarissa
Great Grandchildren: Kamaile, Kapono, Eleisha, Siarah, Shaedan, Andriana, Madison, Marc, Keomalu, Chris, Chevette, Joel, Dustin, Lei, CJ, Danika, Noah, Kelsie, Kaylee, Madison, Joshua, Kehau, Deigan, Rhaia, Talan, Isaac, Isaiah
Great Great Grandchildren: Jairae, Jahstice, Jaydam, Jayzden, America, Yuan, Braden, Kaylee, Kaiden
#RIPGRANDMASUERO
A Short Story from Grandma...
At 96 years old, Castora Guillermo Suero remembers her days growing up in sugar plantation camps and working for a pineapple cannery as if they took place yesterday.
“I worked for Dole cannery in Honolulu when I was 16 years old, night shift, 35 cents an hour, from 2 o’clock in the afternoon to 10 p.m., cutting, trimming pineapple skins,” the Lihue resident says, her eyes re-tracing the path of pineapples rolling endlessly down a chute and landing in front of her. “The pineapples would keep coming. You gotta be fast!” Castora gave the wages she earned to her mother to supplement their family’s income. Her mother, Guadalupe, also raised ducks and chickens and sold their eggs to help makes ends meet. “At that time, my father earned $1 a day! Not enough but everything was very cheap,” she says, recalling that a 100-pound bag of rice cost less than $5. Her father returned $1 to her per month to pay for her lunches, supplied by the cannery for five cents per day. “It came on aluminum plates, maybe stew, sandwich, rice and milk in a small little glass bottle,” she says, her fingers curling around the bottle that she can still see in her mind’s eye. What about eating pineapples if she got hungry while working at the cannery? “The small ones, they just like sugar,” she says with a broad smile. Cannery employees were of “all makes,” Castora says. “When you’re of age, either you go to work at the plantation or pick up pineapple in the field or work in the cannery. In those days, no such thing as hotels except in Waikiki, and that was too far from our house.”
Castora’s family immigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines in 1923, when Castora was only one year old. Guadalupe was required to tell authorities that her baby girl was two years old in order for her to be allowed to come with them on their voyage to their new life in Hawaii. Castora’s father, Eulagio, had been recruited by the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association, along with other men from the northern region of Luzon in the Philippines. The family made the long journey from the Philippines to Hawaii by ship, traveling in steerage, as was customary for most prospective sugar plantation employees, who could afford only third class. For years Castora has carried in her wallet a photograph of her with her mother taken shortly after they arrived in Hawaii, the young woman’s hand resting on her daughter’s knee, her face looking much like Castora’s likely did when she was a young girl. When the family arrived in Hawaii, Eulagio was chosen by Oahu Sugar Company in Waipahu on Oahu to be a “cut cane” man. He worked with a crew of about a dozen other Filipino men who harvested the tall stalks of sugar cane using a machete after “burn days,” the days the plantation purposely set fire to acres of sugar cane to burn off unneeded green leaves. “On burn days, when all the men come home from work, they covered in soot,” Castora recalls, in her still-thick Filipino accent. “Only the eyes and the teeth you can see.” Her mother worked as a laundress, collecting the dirty laundry of two or three men once a week, washing all their clothes outdoors in a galvanized metal bucket, adding lye to help remove the soot. “My mother used to get the day-old rice and she would cook it some more, add water and put it in an empty bag and massage it to make starch. That thing is very stiff!” she says. Then her mother would dry, iron and fold the laundry, all for $2.50 per month. Castora and her family lived in a sugar plantation camp in Waipahu, surrounded by other plantation families of a variety of cultures. “Was good fun!” she says, but as a child, differences were apparent. “Those days, oh, you gotta walk to elementary school,” she says. “All the Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and Filipino children all walk, but the Americans come in car.” Castora remembers the simple, single-walled, wooden frame housing provided by the plantation so clearly that she draws a diagram on the table with her finger, indicating where each of the two rooms was located. She still sees in her mind exactly how many steps led from the front porch to the outdoor kitchen, which was located next to the community restroom. Bathing was communal in those days, too, with hot water heated by a fire beneath a huge wooden tub. People sat in smaller tubs nearby and scooped hot water onto themselves from the larger tub. “You gotta take a bath before the men pau hana (finished work),” and used up all the hot water, Castora says. “No shower. No such thing as that in those days.” When the family was eventually upgraded to a newer plantation house, in addition to three bedrooms, they now had a shower. “Oh, was good!” Castora says. But that shower was cold water only. “Amazing what we went through,” she says.
Petite as she is now, it’s hard to imagine Castora as a tomboy, but in high school that’s what she was, wearing overalls, playing volleyball and also playing catcher on a baseball team. “I used to get good fun. I would throw the ball like a young man. I was a good hitter, too,” she says. “I tell my children and grandchildren I used to be catcher. They don’t believe me so I show them the picture.” She recalls how catchers’ uniform pants in those days were balloon-like. “The ball got stuck in the balloon pants and they couldn’t find it,” she recalls, laughing. “Oh, it was good fun watching that!” But it was playing tennis that turned out to be the most fortuitous sport for Castora. Wearing uniforms of golden shirts and short pants supplied by Oahu Sugar, Castora and girlfriends played tennis without a coach, simply having fun. Then one day a coach appeared, one Catalino Suero. He and Castora hit it off – and soon got married. Though Catalino has passed on, Castora still refers to him lovingly as “My Catalino.” Castora and Catalino moved from Oahu to Kauai in the 1950s when Catalino, who worked for the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association as a supervisor in sugar technologies, was assigned to Lihue. When they first arrived on Kauai, they stayed at the Kuboyama Hotel (now the Nawiliwili Tavern), and later rented a home from Mamoru Kaneshiro (then-owner of Kaneshiro Hog Farms) in Kalaheo for $35 per month. Today, Castora is grateful for her five children, 14 grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, her vivid memory and her excellent health. She has recovered well from an accident she had in March 2008 when, leaving church, she walked outside, “I never looked up or down. A truck banged me,” she says. She gets around in a wheelchair and though her children would prefer she stay indoors, she still has that spunky tomboy in her. “Sometimes I go out in the yard. I never tell my children. The grass is lumpy, I fall down. I drag my body up and push myself into one small chair,” she says. “Then I look around, lucky thing nobody’s watching.” She takes stock of all the progress she’s seen in her 93 years, especially on Kauai. “When we first came to Kauai, 5:30 in the afternoon, everything is closed up,” she says. “The only place that was open used to be Club Jetty (a now-closed Nawiliwili night club). “Coming from Kalaheo in the afternoon, you hardly met any cars, only one or two cars coming,” she says. “Now, chain of cars. Amazing!”
And she looks back with fondness on sugar plantation days. “It was the lifestyle for all the people,” she says. “Was good, very good!”
Written and recorded by Pamela Varma Brown, published in 2015
Stories of Grandma
"Grandma and I went to a party in Waimea, Kauai when I was about 9 years old. It was near Shipwrecks close to the beach. As always, we made our "takeout" plate and put it in the car for grandpa and uncle Tino before we sat down to eat. Grandma was talking story in Ilocano with all the people there and I didn't understand so I got bored. I hopped over the little fence and headed to throw rocks on the beach. A couple of hours later we left.
The next day I had a 103 fever and couldn't walk. My parents took me to the doctor and they gave me medication. After several days and no progress, Grandma Suero took me to Grandma Perreira. Grandma Perreira did her thing (too hard to explain, but if you met her, you know what I'm talking about). After a quick discussion, Grandma Suero took me back to where the party was and ask me where I went, I still had a fever and could barely walk. I showed her and she started saying this. "Ba-re, Ba-re, Ba-re, please excuse my grandson, he didn't mean no harm. She made me do the same thing as well. We did this for about 10 minutes, walking through the entire area.
Within minutes, my fever broke and I could walk without help. What happened was that I walked on a sacred place, a Hei'au and I made a disturbance. I was lucky that she knew what to do.
Lessons learned:
1. Learn to speak Ilocano
2. Don't go wandering around on you own in a strange place
3. Use Ba-re, Ba-re if your feeling like your in a spot your not suppose be at.
4. Listen to your Grandmother"
- Ryan Perreira
"My sister and I were fortunate enough to be raised in Grandma's house. I remember my sister and I use to play all kinds of games and one time we decided to pretend we were cooks. It was after school and Grandma was watching us. We went around the yard and started picking all kinds of vegetables, trying to get the most colorful ones. Little did we know that the little pointy red and yellow ones were Hawaiian Chili pepper. After a good few minutes we realized our face, eyes, hands, and mouth were on fire! We ran in the house crying and Grandma washed our faces, hands, and arms with soap and water. It was so painful. Till this day - every time I see a chili pepper plant I remember that experience and Grandma's lasting words, now you know!"
- Addison Bulosan
"One late night I was playing computer games (Starcraft) into the wee hours. I was still in High School, it must've been 9th grade, year 2000. Adrian, BJ, and Dad moved to Seattle for work. Mom was on a trip. So it was just my sister, and Uncle Tino that was home with Grandma. A part of me use to stay up late to make sure Grandma went to bed - not sure if it was because Mom told me or if I just had this feeling to stay up late and make sure she's safe. My sister and uncle were sound asleep and Grandma Suero was watching T.V. She finally decided to go bed and in her classic voice "don't stay up late - go sleep, you get school tomorrow!"
"mmm" I responded. And as I went back to playing my computer game I heard the T.V. shut off and then a loud thump. As if someone dropped a huge bag of rice on the kitchen floor. I went to check what it was and I found Grandma on the ground passed out. I ran to her yelling "Grandma, wake up." I shook her and she wasn't responding. I could hear her breathing, so I tried to pick her up but she was too heavy. I ran to wake up Rissa (my sister), and told her to call the 911. She frantically called, crying, explaining that Grandma is on the floor not waking up. Then I went to wake up Uncle Tino (Grandma's only son), and he tried to wake her up - she finally did.
Grandma couldn't recall anything, and after she gathered herself in a few minutes, Uncle Tino decided to drive her to the E.R. instead of waiting for the ambulance. I can't remember whether or not she had a heart attack and fainted or a stroke and fainted. I just remember going to visit Grandma in the hospital and needing emergency treatment. If I didn't stay up late that night, not sure what would've happened, but I'm glad it happened this way cause we got 18 more years to enjoy with her."
- Addison Bulosan
"I moved back home in 2008 before going to Grad school to save money and be with family for a year. I started working at Brennekes as a server, bar-back, and hostess. One evening from finishing work I got home and it was eerily empty. Normally at 8pm at home, there are 2 T.V.s on and people talking. I started calling everyone - Mom, Dad, Adrian, and no one answered. I sat quietly at home for a moment, wondering what was going on. Then my phone rang, it was Mom frantically saying Grandma got hit by a car and is in the I.C.U.
I rushed over to Wilcox Hospital and everyone was there as Grandma was hooked up to the machines. The family explained that Grandma was attending Good Friday mass and unfortunately was hit by a car and was in monitoring for possible internal bleeding. They needed to fly her up to Oahu for further testing and better support in case there was serious injury. Only one family member is able to join the medical team in the 5-passenger plane and I volunteered to go with her. It was a surreal experience - as if we were in a movie. Everything moved so quickly, from riding in the ambulance to flying to the hospital. When we arrived to the hospital and got Grandma situated, the doctor took me outside and handed me a packet of papers to read and sign. Before this happen, Grandma did not have a health directive or a P.O.A., and since I was there and the most immediate person to be able to respond, they asked me to sign this document indicating that if my Grandma goes unresponsive and unable to make decision, and no other family member is around to assist with decision making, I would be the one responsible to make decisions on behalf of Grandma.
I didn't realize it back then but I do now, from that experience, we have the power to decide whether we want to move forward towards life or away.
They woke her up every hour to make sure she didn't have any brain damage. Asking her where she is, what her name was, what the date is, and why she was here. I sat there praying, hoping that there was no damage. Miraculously after hours of testing, Grandma walked away with only bruises and a renewed sense of urgency for life."
- Addison Bulosan
Grandma's Isms
“If God Permits..”
“You, Wala’on”
“Grandpa going get mad!”
“intayon, intayon...saan ka ag batbati (go home, go home, don’t stay behind)”
“It’s okay, you just gotta anos”
“No throw this away, still good!”
“Go home go home everybody. Ba-re, ba-re.”
“No can help.”
“Neva mind, cannot help. No worry about it.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
DATE: May 18 2019 Saturday
Location: Bamboo Grill (Wailua Golf Course)
600 - 1000pm
RSVP: 808-652-3667
PRAYERS
DATE: May 30 - June 1st 2018
LOCATION: 4362 Uahiapele Street Lihue HI 96766
TIME: 6 - 8pm
Attire: Aloha
FUNERAL AND MEMORIAL SERVICE
DATE: June 1st, 2018 - Friday
LOCATION: Immaculate Conception Church
TIME: Viewing at 8-930am
Eulogy 930am
Service at 10am
Burial: Kauai Memorial Gardens
FAMILY GATHERING: Lihue Neighborhood Center
TIME: After burial services
Attire: Aloha
40-Day Follow Up Prayer
June 22, 2018
6pm
4362 Uahiapele St. Lihue
1-YEAR Follow up Prayer
May 14 2019
6pm
Family Reunion
Kaua'i - March 29 - 31, 2019
Oahu - March 27 - 29, 2020
If you would like to send flowers, please click here.
Grandma's Eulogy
Castora Asuncion Guillermo was born on March 28,1922 in Laoag, Philippines to Guadalupe and Eulogio Guillermo. At the age of 1, she, her older sister Nicolasa, my Aunty Nancy , and older brother Nicanor, my Apo Nick, along with their parents boarded a ship and headed to America because her father had been recruited by the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association to work. In order to secure passage the family had to lie about Castora’s age and say that she met the minimum age requirement of 2. The journey took 3 months in steerage and when they reached Hawaii the family settled in the Spanish camp in Waipahu where my great grandfather labored as a “cut cane” man on the plantation and my great grandmother worked as a laundress.
Growing up Castora was a tomboy. She played softball, tennis, and even volleyball. For softball she was the catcher and grandma Nancy was the pitcher. They were an awesome tandem and growing up me and the other cousins would always hear stories about their softball days. In fact, all of us girl cousins grew up playing softball just like Castora and Nancy and they would enjoy watching our Bobby Sox games.
At the age of 16, grandma went to work at Dole Cannery in Honolulu where she worked the night shift earning 35 cents an hour prepping the pineapples. Her salary went straight to her mother to help support the family.
In 1941 she graduated from Waipahu High School with dreams of becoming a highschool home economics teacher. Unfortunately, this dream was interrupted by World War 2 and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. At that time the family was living on Waipio Peninsula with a full view of Pearl Harbor and the atrocities of war left an impression on Grandma.
Soon after, while playing tennis for Oahu Sugar, Grandma would meet my grandpa, Catalino Suero who was her tennis coach. They fell in love, got married and had 5 children, my mom Carmencita, Catalino the second who died in infancy from whooping cough, Catalino the third, my uncle Tino, Kathleen, my aunty Kathy, my aunty Charlmaine as well as her niece/hanai daughter, Andrita, my Aunty Rita. My mom shared so many stories about growing up in Waipahu with all of her siblings and her cousins, and I know they were good times, but in the 1950s they moved to Kauai when my grandpa, who worked for the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association as a supervisor in sugar technologies, was assigned to Lihue.
When they first arrived on Kauai, they stayed at the Kuboyama Hotel (now the Nawiliwili Tavern), and later rented a home from Mamoru Kaneshiro (then-owner of Kaneshiro Hog Farms) in Kalaheo, and later moved to Lihue, where they rented a house owned by the Oanas. In 1967 thanks to Aunty Kathy’s employment with the Lihue Plantation Store they bought their first home in Molokoa which will always be to me Grandmas house--pokey grass and yard filled with plants, refrigerator stocked with food, and door always unlocked. At that time Grandma worked at Yoneji store as a butcher and the store was a playground for many years for my cousins and I. It was always so much fun to explore in the store before we made our way to the back to find grandma. I was always so envious of my Kauai cousins who were so at home in Yoneji store and its treasures--which to me meant those red plastic sandals that squeaked when you walked!
Even back then, life on Kauai was different from Oahu and grandma fell in love with fishing and crabbing. My Grandpa Suero, being the boss would go to visit his single laborers in Kipu camp to play cards and socialize. On one of those visits that Grandma went with she met and befriended Dativa Padilla. Through talking the two found out that Dativa knew her mother Guadalupe from the days in the Philippines because the two would go down to the river together to fetch water. Their friendship grew and they became fishing partners with the Suero clan travelling to Kipu to fish on the weekends as well as travel to Niumalu to go crabbing. The two families eventually became intertwined when Dativa’s son, Aurilio, my dad, married Castora’s daughter, Carmencita, my mom. And that’s where I come in, I am Aurene Castora Padilla, the Oahu granddaughter, the one that inherited grandma’s name, the pack rat that also cannot throw anything away, the one that loves the ocean and also has that same photographic memory.
When my mom told me early Monday morning that my grandma had passed away I was in denial. Grandma just celebrated her 96th bday a few months ago and lived a long and full life, but I could not believe that she was gone.
How could the woman who had been there for all of my life’s milestones be gone? How could the woman who survived world wars, cancer, and even being hit by a car be no longer with us? She was the matriarch of our huge Guillermo/Suero/Padilla family. Always present, always the one that we all looked up to--the one that represented our large clan with grace, humor, dignity, gentleness, and a huge smile. Grandma was a survivor, she was our hero. She was there for all of us all the time. I could not imagine a world where she did not exist--there was still so much I wanted her to be a part of, so much more to share, so many more trips for her to make to Oahu to celebrate with me, I had never had the chance to send my own kids Dannika and Noah to live with her on Kauai for summers like I had planned to. There was still so much for all of us to learn from her. 96 years did not seem like enough time.
I started to get ready for work by making breakfast, and as I opened the spoon drawer my eyes rested upon this beautiful soup spoon. It is the only one resting in our drawer of plain plastic soup spoons and it has been there forever, never used. This spoon that no one uses has been in the drawer ever since I can remember (because I was blessed with grandma’s amazing memory) and I know precisely where it came from. Grandma brought it home in her purse, wrapped in a napkin after a party. Grandma was known for bringing things home from parties. Whether it was some filipino dessert, a half eaten piece of puto, or even a soup spoon, you always had to check her bag for napkins when you came home from a party. She claimed that she was bringing home balon to eat later or to feed her dogs. I will never forget the time she made a whole pot of pork guisantes at our house. It was yummy but as she cooked for an army, there was plenty left. I caught her spooning the whole pot of pork guisantes into our dog Koa’s food bowl. I was horrified and scolded her but she insisted, and boy, did Koa love grandma’s pork guisantes he ate the whole bowl up!!!
And grandma loved a party. I loved it when our family had something going on because it meant that grandma would be coming to visit from Kauai and she would be staying at our house. I always gladly gave up my bed when grandma came to Honolulu (as she called it) and slept on the couch. Her visits always meant that at some point we would be stopping by Pearlridge or Libby’s to get some of her favorite steamed manapua, rice cake, pepeiao, char siu, roast port, and pork hash to bring back to Kauai in the pink box. Later, when I was able to drive it meant that I would be taking her “Pashad” or “galavanting” to see her old stomping grounds. As much as Honolulu had changed since she lived here she could still tell me exactly where to go and how to get there (something I sadly did not inherit). Grandma would tell me that we were going to see her best friend Barbara. I would ask her, “Grandma, did you call her to let her know you coming?” And of course the answer was no. Like the olden days before phones we were simply going to drive to her house. Grandma would navigate and we would pull up to a house in Waipahu. I would watch as she would get out of the car, and yell for Barbara--she would yell at the top of her lungs the way they probably did it back in the day. Miraculously, Barbara would come out of the house see her and they would embrace and cry, look at each other and hug some more. After they wiped away their tears we would get back into the car and leave. True friendship, no words necessary, just hugs to remind one another of their long-time bond.
On one of those trips she insisted that I follow her directions and drive her deep into Waipahu in the lands behind the highschool. She brought me to some crazy deserted dirt road and I told her that we could not go there, it said “No Trespassing” but she insisted and so I drove, all the while ready to duck down in case of emergency. As we drove there were half-naked barefooted kids, adults staring at us, and pitbulls. I was freaking out, positive that we were going to get shot. I kept telling her that we needed to turn around and that we couldn’t be there but she insisted that she just wanted to see--see what Grandma? There’s nothing to see!!!! But she was deep in thought so we kept driving until we got to the end and a big chain link blocked us from going any further. I wanted to lock the doors and reverse outta there but she got out, looked around, sighed and said, “aisos, everything change” shaking her head.
Grandma was a reminiscer and she would sit and tell us stories about her younger days. She remembered absolutely everything, her memory was so clear up until the end. Her stories about Waipahu, plantation life, the war, fishing, were always epic. She would talk forever about anything and everything--world history, current events, politics. Just two years ago, when I last saw her she asked me who I voted for. I paused before I answered, worried that my grandma might be a Republican, but she was so totally relieved when I told her, “HIllary Clinton of course grandma!” Because even at the age of 94, she was still a voter and still attuned to world news. She then went on and on about our current President, equality, and I just had to laugh and be proud of what an amazing grandma I had and be even prouder of the fact that my own daughter, Dannika was just like her.
Grandma always told us to go school and study hard. Education was important to her, perhaps because she was unable to realize her own dreams of becoming a teacher, something that my Mom was able realize for her, and I was so honored when she was able to see me graduate from college in Oregon. The family trip of me, my brother Aaron, my mom, and dad plus grandma that went from Washington to Washington DC and then to Vegas was epic. Going on a road trip with grandma was like no other. Her mouth didn’t stop. She would talk and talk and talk and ask so many questions. She was just “curious” and made friends with EVERYONE.
I can still remember the car ride from Oregon to Washington. She read every single sign between the states, reading aloud the Native American city names with different pronunciations. My mom was trying not to get annoyed, and me and my brother could not stop laughing. 20 years later we still laugh and say, “Puyallup, Puyallup” “Shohomish, Snow-ho-MISH” the way grandma did for two hours!!!! When we made it to DC, Virginia and Maryland, she loved the museums and seeing all the “ancient” artifacts. When we went to Vegas she loved playing the slots—so much so that we lost her but found her in the casino. Grandma loved history, she loved travelling, she loved adventure. She was a wise women before her time. Thank you Mom and Dad for that family trip, it will always be one of the most special in my heart.
But her smarts was just one of the special things about her. Grandma was a prolific crocheter. I am sure everyone in this church today owns one of her creations. These awesome handmade gifts from grandma were always a hit or miss. Sometimes you scored and got a beautiful beanie made of a solid color yarn mixed in with the matching tri color yarn. But other times you got the “rainbow, filipino” You know the one, the one that was purple, peach, green, yellow, orange--made with left over yarn (because grandma never ever threw anything away!). Every year at Christmas when we got the big box from Kauai grandma’s presents would be saved for last. You could spot grandma’s presents a mile away. Once opened, my brother and I would have a mad dash to snatch the ones with the best colors. We would often wonder where we would use the red socks, or what we were supposed to do with the small lap blankets. I used to take the socks, the blankets, the pot warmers for granted but now they are treasures to me and I searched the house for all of them. It is going to be so weird this Christmas without grandma’s blankets or her famous fruit cake.
When I told my son Noah that Apo had passed away he said, “I wonder if I can inherit some of her yarn?” She had taught Noah how to hand knit on one of her visits and it had made an impression on him. She actually tried to teach me to crochet one summer and I was bad at it. Withh her help I was able to make a really long neon red string and she lovingly told me I had made a “belt.” I had a new found respect for grandma and could not figure out how in the world she was able to make the hundreds of projects that she finished and gave away to family and friends. Grandma was patient which she had to be with 5 kids, 16 grandkids, 26 great grandkids and 8 great great grandkids.
As the grandkid that lived on Oahu, I saw my grandma as a loving, nurturing one that would always support me at everything--from my graduations from college, to the baby luau for my kids. My mom would call, and she would come. Even when she was slowed down and couldn’t walk she would be here in her wheelchair. I tried to be a good girl so that grandma would be proud of me. Still, she did strike fear in me even when she scolded gently. I still remember the last time I got scoldings from grandma. It was 2 years ago and she came into my room to “talk”. She never raised her voice, but her words went straight to my heart and I felt guilt as the tears fell from my eyes. That is how grandma was. She was gentle and strong, but most of all she was wise. You did everything that you could to make her proud. She was an amazing woman, with an amazing life and she loved her family deeply. I am thankful to see that Grandma is in each and everyone of us here. I not only see grandma in my mom, aunties, and uncle but in my own kids, my cousins, my cousin’s kids, and the littlest cousins too. Although she is gone, the lessons and values that she taught us run deep, and when I look at all of our Instagrams and see my brother Aaron’s art, Clarissa’s world travels, see Kamaile hitting the ball outta the park and Kaylee shooting a basket , the fish that Adrian, Wesley, and Aaron catch, see Nana and Madi, Rhonda;s hula, Heidi's motorcycle, Kehau and Kelsie's antics, see the kids loving the ocean, see how we take care of our own without leaving anyone behind, and give back to the community, I know that her spirit will live on as long as we continue to tell her stories, bring our kids to the beach, and love one another the way she loved all of us. Thank you grandma, we will never forget you. - Aurene Padilla
I’m Dr. Addison Charles Suero Bulosan, son of Charlmaine and Adams Bulosan, grandson of Grandma. Can you hear me? Can you hear me in the back?
In the last few years, Grandmas hearing declined and sometimes you weren’t sure if she actually heard what you said. So if I speak a little loud or slow, it’s because I want to make sure Grandma can hear me as well.
With your permission Grandma, I’d like to share with all of you a few things about Grandma that you may or may not have already known. For those who had the fortune to know her, remember her so she can live on within you. For those who have not met her, I hope these stories can inspire you to live like she did.
They say a person dies twice, once as the spirit leaves the physical body, and lastly when their name or memory has last been shared.
Well, I guess Grandma is going to literally live forever. She shared so many stories and touched so many lives that her legacy is intertwined with who we are, and how we treat each other every day. In fact, this connection with Grandma is so real and tangible that if we just take a step back for a moment, take a deep breath and recall our experiences with Grandma, for some of us, we literally would not exist. If Grandma didn’t take the chance and dated grandpa Catalino, My Mom, Aunty Rita, Aunty Cita, Aunty Kathy, Uncle Tino, would not be alive today. That would mean we grand kids, great grand kids, and great great grand kids, would not have the opportunity to be alive and well. If she didn’t give you the advice, or show up in your life, what would be different? If she didn’t create that meaningful connection with you or with someone you care deeply about, you would not be here today. So take a moment with me in gratitude - Grandma left a piece of her heart and mind within each of us.
This is where we all first met Grandma, in our hearts.
Since birth, I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with Grandma. Like many extended families here in Hawaii, the Bulosan family had the privilege to continue to live in the home that Grandma and Grandpa Suero settled into in 1966. She babysat my sister and I while my parents worked. She took us “galavanting” all over Kaua’i, like she did for many of the grand kids here today. Looking back to these fond memories a few things stick out that I hope we can continue in her honor...
Grandma Suero genuinely cared for people and provided “present-time consciousness.” Present- time consciousness is when you sat down with Grandma, she was 100% with you. Now for some family members who received present-time consciousness from Grandma all the time, it can be overwhelming, you all know what I mean. She sat with you, asked you over a 100 questions of your life, and if you are lucky, she would share her entire life story. One of the most amazing things about Grandma is that she REMEMBERED EVERYONE. She remembered your parents, where you lived, where you attended school, who was your best friend, where you worked, and most importantly, she connected with you on the deepest level.
You felt her heart and mind, and you knew in your heart that Grandma genuinely cared about you.
She did this with everyone. It could be a stranger she just met, but her Family especially noticed how intentful she was with everyone. And whenever you left her, you left in a deep sense of awe - like, I want to be like that with the people I care about.
I see this quality of genuine care flow through Grandmas children- you all have this ability that Grandma had - which is to remember someone, and truly care for them. I see it passed on to the grand children, and is now being passed on throughout the next generations. There are 3 days that stick out for me with Grandma that I’d like to close with.
One late night in year 2000, Grandma use to stay up late to make sure that Rissa and I would fall asleep. Everyone was out of town except for myself, Rissa, Grandma, and uncle Tino. Like most nights, I stayed up pass Grandma and made sure she went to sleep. I’m not sure why I use to do this but I did. This night, I heard her say good night to us, turn off the T.V., and then heard a loud thump, as if someone dropped a bag of rice on the floor. I went to check what was going on and found Grandma on the floor unconscious. I tried to wake her, yelled, shook her for a little bit, and she wouldn’t wake up. I checked her pulse (she was still breathing), and I yelled for my sister to call 911. I tried to lift her but I was 13 years old and my body was far smaller than hers. Luckily uncle Tino woke up, got grandma to wake up, and brought her to the E.R. later to find out that the reason she fell was because she had a heart problem and passed out. It took awhile but she got better from the condition and in a couple days returned home without any major complications. Had we not been home or awake, we would have had this gathering 18 years ago. This moment changed me forever as it taught me that the little things you do for others can make a big difference. I was 13 and I didn’t know that merely staying up just a little bit longer could be a life or death situation for my Grandma.
In 2008, I moved home for a year before going to graduate school and I came home one evening to find the house eerily empty. I called everyone but no one was answering. I felt something was wrong - I get a call from my mom saying “come to the hospital, Grandma is in the I.C.U.” I rushed over and learned that Grandma was hit by a car and they needed to rush her to Oahu to make sure she didn’t have any brain damage. The only way to Oahu was a 5-seater propeller airplane where 1 pilot, 2 nurses, grandma, and one family member could go. I went and when we got to the hospital and Grandma settled in the doctor came out and had me read and sign a waiver that stated if Grandma was unable to respond or make coherent decisions, I would have to make decisions on her behalf. I was 22, they woke her up every hour for 24 hours and she passed all her tests and miraculously, she walked away alive and well at age 86. This moment changed me forever, as it taught me that in every decision we make, whether big or small, it will always be a decision towards or away from life. At that moment I always chose to make the best of what I had, and to never regret anything.
On May 14, Monday, 2018, I woke up to my brother Adrian banging on my door - I got up and looked at him, and he said “Grandma”. Grandma passed on this day, and once again reminded me and hopefully everyone here today, that choosing life, is worthwhile. She always wanted the best for us, rooted for us, and loved each one of us. She shared this love through her time, attention, and memories. So Grandma, with your permission, I will share with everyone today, some of the things you would say.
Grandma would say “Never mind, cannot help, don’t worry about it!” Whenever we would go to her about our problems -work, family, or just life, she would share this with us to help us understand that some things aren’t worth dwelling on. Life goes on, so do you, if you focus on what’s wrong you’ll never get to a solution.
So never mind. Let it go in your mind.
Cannot help. This situation is beyond you.
Don’t worry about it. Let it go in your heart.
Grandma would also say “If God Permits” she started saying that after Grandpa passed away. Whenever we’d talk to her about trying new things or doing things with her - she’d share this with us. Reminding us that we are all binded by a power beyond us.
If God Permits.
And lastly, Grandma would always say “Go home go home everybody, bare bare bare bare” whenever we use to go somewhere, as we were leaving she would share this outloud to help our spirits come home with us wherever we go. It’s a reminder that there is a spirit within us all, that we are traveling through this life as a passenger in a physical body, with the permission of God, to experience what we call life. Grandma reminds us that, God calls upon us to live fully, meaningful lives. And when its time, to return home, go peacefully, with no regrets. Grandma has been called to go home, to spend time with those who have passed, and most importantly, grandma returns to where she first met all of us, she returns to us all in our hearts.
Love you Grandma. - Dr. Addison Bulosan
Share your Family Tree
Grandma has a legacy - and it's our Family. Fill out the form below to let us know how connected you are with Grandma Suero!
Dear Family and Friends...
Grandma always had stories to tell. She had a keen memory, recollecting each moment of her life from Day 1. She could remember a complete stranger, where their family was from, and how they knew each other. She cared deeply for her Family and dedicated her life to make sure they live healthy, happy, and successful lives.
If you have a fond memory, please do us the honor and share it with us. Grandma's legacy can live forever in the memories that we share.
SEND YOUR STORIES AND CONDOLENCES TO
ADDISONBULOSAN@GMAIL.COM
FOR MORE INFORMATION: (P) 808-245-4238 (E) ADDISONBULOSAN@GMAIL.COM
If you have photos with Grandma, please send those as well! We would love to capture those moments and pass it on forever.
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