Minerva C. Whitney's Obituary
Minerva C. WhitneyJune 7, 1951—-January 20, 2016Minnie, age 64, of San Leandro, California passed away on Wednesday, January 20, 2016. She was born to the late Vicente F. Gacad and Teresita C. Gacad on June 7, 1951. She was studious and bright, and graduated as Valedictorian at Jolo Elementary School and as an honor student at University of Santo Tomas High School. She then attended University of Santo Tomas and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology as cum laude. After, she migrated to Canada where she earned a Masters Degree in Library Science at the University of Toronto.Minnie is survived by her husband Harold Michael, sons Joseph and David, mother Tess, and siblings, Paulette, Lars, Venus, Argie and Annie. She has now joined her oldest son, Michael Vincent, our Papa and the Lord with all His angels and saints in heaven.Three distinct words come to mind when we think of Minnie – Passion, Strength and Service. All three are prevalent throughout her life. She was a passionate person by nature from the day she was born and that spawned an inner strength that really set her apart from many. But life has a way of testing one’s intestinal fortitude and Minnie was no different. She had her share of challenges in life. She, however, always turned to her faith in the storm and in the end, she, herself, became the epitome of strength for many people. She encountered so many trials and found her divine calling. Whether it was her spiritual and corporal works of mercy or her tireless showing of compassion and love to the needy, she made sure to make service a huge part of her life, often assisting in feeding programs for the homeless and giving rides to the elderly. As a devout Legion of Mary member, she used her God-given talents of: benevolence to help assist the homebound ministry by providing physical and spiritual nourishment; leadership to assist and oversee the prayer groups; music to enhance the church choir and; her education to supervise the books of the church. In a nutshell, many say that if you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion and your passion will inevitably lead you to your purpose. This certainly was the case in Minnie’s life.We realize that saying goodbye to Minnie is the hardest sorrow to bear. We wish for one more day, one more word, and one more chance to say goodbye to her in person. Minnie was a joy to all of us and we are all immensely proud of her. She will forever remain beautiful, vibrant, intelligent, witty and humorous to all that were privileged to have known her. Her kindness and radiant generosity will never be forgotten.The family would like to thank you all for the outpouring of love and support that many of you have shown. We are confident that Minnie is looking down at all of us with her beautiful smile because of that.Lastly, although she will be missed to no end, we have to make sure to focus on the right things here. Beginnings are often scary and endings are so sad but it’s the middle that counts the most. Let’s not focus so much on the ending because we might end up missing the whole point of her beautiful life’s story. Let’s take this time to celebrate Minnie’s life, her loves and her legacies.
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