Among my grandparents, Nanay was the one I was closest to. I barely knew Tatay because he passed away when I was six years old. Lolo followed in the early 90s when I was a young teenager and Lola several years ago.

The fondest memory of Nanay that I have is how she would cook delicious crispy chicken skin for her grandkids whenever we would visit her in Valenzuela many, many years ago.

I found it heartbreaking seeing Nanay become progressively senile these past few years, but whenever she was able to walk around the house (she was part of our household), she was asking if we have eaten or taken care of ourselves.

Nanay was hospitalized late last year but she was able to shake the disease off. However, she contracted pneumonia recently and again had to be hospitalized. Unfortunately, it was her time to go. And so she breathed her last earlier this morning in the presence of Tito Bobet, her youngest son who just flew in from Canada late last night. Sadly, she could no longer wait for Tita Lita and Tita Nene to arrive. She passed away at the age of 97, just 4 days shy of her 98th birthday.