Rev. Jerome Rohr did a beautiful funeral Mass for Paula Joanne Espinosa at 10:30am Wednesday, November 15th at the St. Rose of Lima Church, 355 South Navajo, Denver, CO. There was a special memorial booklet reviewing Paula's life for guests at the memorial service. Special speakers included Kathy Baca doing Proverbs 31: 10-31, Delores Espinosa doing the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (l Cor 12:31, 13:1-8a), and eulogies by Tiffany Espinosa (as read by Christa Kreisel-Roth), Bruce Bryant, and Ruth Hellman, and a video tribute compiled by Tiffany Espinosa. There was a well-attended reception at Blue Bonnet Cafe at 457 South Broadway following the funeral.
The Rocky Mountain News ran a special feature obituary on my mom on November 21, 2006.
Feel free to send memories, pictures, cards, letters, or other memorabilia for her daughter to:
Tiffany Espinosa
446 Osceola Street
Denver, CO 80204
tiffany.espinosa@cudenver.edu
Download a copy of the booklet here. (6.8 MB)
When one finds a worthy woman, her value is far beyond pearls.
She obtains wool and flax and makes cloth with skillful hands.
Like merchant ships, she secures her provisions from afar.
She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household.
She picks out a field to purchase; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She is girt about with strength, and sturdy are her arms.
She enjoys the success of her dealings; at night her lamp is undimmed.
She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle.
She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy.
She fears not the snow for her household; all her charges are doubly clothed.
She makes her own coverlets; fine linen and purple are her clothing.
She makes garments and sells them, and stocks the merchants with belts.
She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs at the days to come.
She opens her mouth in wisdom, and on her tongue is kindly counsel.
She watches the conduct of her household, and eats not her food in idleness.
Her children rise up and praise her:
"Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all."
Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her a reward of her labors, and let her works praise her at the city gates.
The Word of the Lord
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. And I shall show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
The Word of the Lord
Christa is a close friend of the family and someone my mom really enjoyed being around (yes, you have to read that too!)
Many of the things I learned from my mom I saw her demonstrate in the way she lived. I share them now so you might know what kind of woman she was and the legacy she left through me.
My mom was one heck of a lady and I was lucky to have her in my life. As we both grew older, we became closer with each year. In her passing, I have lost not only a mother but a good friend. In memory of her, I would like to finish with this quote from The Prophet by Kahil Gibran:
Your friend is your needs answered.
She is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And she is your board and your fireside, for you come to her with your hunger and you seek her for peace.
When your friend parts from you, grieve not; for that which you love most in her may be more clear in her absence, as the mountain is more clear from the plain.
And in the sweetness of memory let there be laughter, and the sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
Thank you.
View the Video Tribute Tiffany put together looking back over her mom's life. (it's 18 MB so it might take some time to download)
Read the Rocky Mountain News Special Feature Obituary below or download it here.
Updated: 12/25/06 7:54pm
