Jean Coronel
I will be remiss if I do not say a few words about Ben. You know God works in mysterious ways. Just about a year ago— Ben, Ellen, Daniel and Alex were in LA for a wedding and then we hooked up the following day to fulfill a wish on Ben?s bucket list— to go see Queen Mary. Why an old boat docked near our home in Long Beach???, only Ben knows. And now here we are, minus one. Ben is gone from our lives and I still can?t believe he is gone. We meet a lot of people every day. People who come into our lives like a faint flicker of light or flash and then gone. Others touch our lives and leave an indelible mark. A mark that glimmers for years. Ben is a constant glow in my life for many years. I first met Ben when he and Ellen were first dating. When Ellen told me about Ben, I jokingly asked ?Guapo ba? And Ellen?s reply— mabait. You see Ellen and I goes a long ways,— we were friends in college and I just want the best for her. When I met Ben in person, I was immediately drawn to him like a brother and knew that very instant that he is the one for Ellen. I admired his gentle ways, especially for the love and care she showered my friend Ellen. I was at their wedding and the ninang of their first born— Daniel. For many years they came to visit us in LA. I remembered my Dad always looking forward to their visit because he will have a coffee drinking buddy in ?Mang Ben?, as we lovingly call him. Dad and Mang Ben drunk a lot of coffee and were up late hours swapping stories. With dad? Mang Ben was an old soul you know. We shared some wonderful times together, vacationed together and visit often. I will never forget those happy memories. Ben is in heaven now and in a few days we will be on his funeral. This is not the time for us to grieve his death but celebrate his life. We have to let him go because he had suffered enough. But don?t ever forget Ben. Let?s all think about those wonderful memories we shared and remember how Ben touched our lives. How good Ben was as a person–, kind—, generous—, loving . Let us hold our tears back and be thankful that we were given the chance to have known Ben. To Benz, Ronny, Ellen, Daniel, Alex, I love you all. Know that your lost is my lost too. Ben will forever be missed but I know in the right time, we will see him again. We will see Ben again and we will be together for all eternity. Ben my brother, I love you. I miss you. Rest in peace. Ellen, Daniel and Alex are in good hands. You have fulfilled your mission and have graced our lives more than you will ever know. May God keep you in the palm of his hand.