Birth date: Aug 6, 1977 Death date: Nov 17, 2022
Our beloved, Corazon Gaffud, passed away on November 17, 2022 at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, CA. She was only 45. Cora was born in San Diego, CA on August 6, 1977 to Dolores Esteybar Gaffud and Exequiel De Leon Gaffud. Read Obituary
My Special Handmade Note: Part 3
We had a contest and each day our cards and responses to each other became better and better. Until, I had the idea of creating the biggest card ever she had to carry to her classes. I can't remember exactly, but I may have drawn a Sanrio character. I could only hope that I made her feel so special. I also hope she knew how special she made me feel.
She reminded me she surrendered, and that made me smile. But she said she'd be back to write real ones, ones we buy from the store when we can afford them. She told me she’d miss seeing me every day, she loved me and that I better go to her birthday, DEBU. She was turning 18 that year. If she were here today, I would give her the biggest hug ever and tell her I love her too.
I miss you so much Coco. Everyone misses you, my dear friend. <3 always, Chinky
My Special Handmade Note: Part 2
She reminded me about LOSIP, our group in high school which stood for Ladies of Sweet Islander Pride. She highlighted the letters LOSIP alternating in green, red and blue and drew a squiggly arrow to the right, followed by the words “DA BOMB”. She definitely held a lot of pride about where we came from, Philippines, and our culture as islanders. And, she reemphasized such pride in big letters over everything she wrote, “Pinay in da..” with a drawing of a house and a huge exclamation point next to it which translates to “The Filipina is here.”
Apparently, we were “taggers”, for which now I’m sorry, but not sorry because it represents part of our memories. Cora helped me recollect our lady names from LOSIP, two of the four monikers we marked on different things. She claimed Sexy Lady, and I chose Lovely Lady. And, I called her Coco Pebbles, and she called me Chinky. She secured that first name with the quickness. Her confidence was so big that for a minute, I couldn’t find the right word for comparison. Then, she reminded me in my thoughts, whispering, “Chinky, it’s UNIVERSE big.” She made me choke on a half laugh. She’s so right and always right. No other words can define the size of her energy.
The very last thing she wrote me, proves to me our most special memory because she describes them as all good times. For a period of time, Cora and I wrote postcards to each other, handmade of course because we couldn’t afford real ones. We could’ve probably put Hallmark out of business. Ours were original and hand-written, expressing good times and memories we both shared.
(Please see part 3)
My Special Handmade Note: Part 1
I couldn't sleep for days when I heard about my friend's passing. One time, it was 3 AM. I'm overwhelmed with emotions, wondering if she can hear me or see me. I had been looking through our photos when I saw our high school yearbook in the corner of my bed.
I grabbed and gently thumbed through the year book, and I found her note to me. She wrote a one page letter, something that normally happens when we're close friends with a person. My closest friends wrote a page too, but something about hers looks and feels different.
My note from Co was extra special. What she wrote and how she wrote brought energy and color to the sad ending of our high school years and scary beginning of college years and the real world. While a few friends' pen colors changed because they ran out of ink, her color choices were deliberate. The colors emphasized important words she wanted to highlight and certain things that meant something to us.
She decorated the page with blue squiggly borders with twinkling stars in each corner. My nick name Chinky in large letters she followed by four heart ellipses just because she thought three weren’t enough. One sole heart hovered on top of the letter I. All five hearts half-filled in the deepest red. She went beyond to include positive encouragement at the very top, determined to waste no space and wrote “ISLANDERS FOREVER”, “You’re only in it to win it!”, and on a gold foil sticker, “Class of 95”, with the word “RULZ” written in green. Cora was and always will be my cheerleader.
Her letter began with a song, something we both learned to do in our English class—start with a hook. But, little did Co know, she had me at Chinky. The one line came from Bell Biv Devoe’s, Poison, the only negative word in the note which she confirmed and spelled in bright red and underlined in all caps. On the other hand, that was our inside joke which reminded me of a fun and positive memory I share with her.
She shared that she was scared about leaving Mt. Miguel because she felt like it was her second home, a second family. Cora wrote me about life lessons she learned on friendships and our memories she promised to always remember.
(Please see part 2)
