Abuela's love: Lili in Red

Liliana Gonzalez has many fond memories of Abuela's surprise visits, the warmth of the perfume-filled bear hugs and the obscure packages Liliana would get when her Abuela would find a cool gadget on late-night TV ads.

Sylvia Garcia was meant to be a grandmother. Her sense of humor and unconditional love were the best things about her. She made it about four days past her 65th birthday. Her fearlessness in looking at death and smiling is one of the reasons why Liliana still loves her.

In late 2016, Garcia started having kidney and liver problems. Abuela had diabetes and never fully understood the dangers of the disease before then. She told Liliana to stay strong no matter what happened to her.

Abuela relocated from Corpus Christi, Texas – where she worked as a payroll specialist at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and retired in 2013, to Portland, Texas, to receive dialysis and other treatments. As her health slowly deteriorated, Liliana’s uncle became her primary caretaker.

Liliana could barely walk into her nursing home room without crying because her Abuela was older and frail. Liliana didn't recognize her. Garcia died Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, due to complications with cirrhosis of the liver and kidney failure due to her diabetes.

Abuela’s impact is not just in how she made people feel but in the people Liliana loves. And even in death Liliana still feels her Abuela is near. Liliana said she feels so lucky that she got to know her Earthside and looks forward to the day they meet again.