IN MEMORIAM: Aurora Fernandez

IN MEMORIAM: Aurora Fernandez

Aurora and I had been friends since our days in Iowa City when our respective husbands were with the University of Iowa. We shared many happy moments together: going to socials, enjoying our children play together, exchanging visits, recipes and home tips and even some confidences. We shared the joys and pains of life. Even when distance separated us, we remained close through the mails.

 One of the kindest, thoughtful, most intelligent, and loving persons I’ve ever met, Aurora has so much idealism in helping the poor and needy and in saving the environment. That was uppermost in her mind when she returned to the Philippines where she had done a lot of charitable works. Her declining health, however, forced her to return to the USA where she could be closer to her children whom she loved unconditionally, taking such great pride, as she would later show in her mails to me, in whatever accomplishments they may have had: Audrey in her acupuncture work, Clay in his search for his roots and activism, Mike in his writing and drama aspirations. But then Aurora herself wasn’t just a dedicated nurse; she was such a good and sensitive writer she would have excelled as a writer had she pursued writing as a career.

One of my greatest regrets is not having been able to talk to her or communicate with her somehow before she finally left, so busy I was with my teaching and church work.  (So many things we have left undone  can sometimes fill us with a sense of guilt no matter how we rationalize it.)  But she had always been in my thoughts.

Aurora, you are truly the dawn of love. Rest, my friend. No more pains nor anguish. May the Lord receive you in His kingdom.You'll always be in my prayers.

The following appeared in the Philippine News, Sept. 29, 2012

IN LOVING MEMORY

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Nurse Aurora Fernandez championed the underserved and underprivileged.

Aurora Fernandez,

tireless activist

Aurora Fernandez died in her Oakland home on Sept. 12, 2012. She was 68.

Aurora was a tireless activist for healthcare issues, especially those concerning the underserved and underprivileged. She worked for decades as a registered nurse, including as a public health nurse in Berkeley, and was a key member of Tambalan, a Filipino organization supporting community-based healthcare programs. 

Her retirement proved equally active. In the Philippines, she volunteered as a patient and women’s advocate for community-based healthcare programs in Bohol and Cebu. In Oakland, she strove to educate her community about kidney disease, nutrition, and the dangers of genetically modified organisms, volunteered for a food bank, and worked to improve multicultural translation services for seniors.

Aurora was known for her energy, intelligence, determination, compassion, and gentle spirit. She was her high school’s valedictorian, graduated summa cum laude from Colegio de San Jose-Recoletos, and received her B.S.N. with highest honors from the University of California at San Francisco. She was a jazz enthusiast and enjoyed the films of Woody Allen and works of William Shakespeare, and spending time with her family.

She is survived by her brothers Douglas, Manuel, and Andy; loving children Clay, Sangumay, and Michael; and beloved grandchildren Elizabeth Aurora and Winston Truce.

Donations may be made in her memory to Visayas Primary Health Care Services, Inc. in the Philippines at vphcs.org (vphcs@yahoo.com;Banco de Oro , F. Gonzales Branch, Acct. #6110005001).

Her memorial service took place September 22, where those she touched contemplated her life through the moving words:

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy.

I awoke and saw that life was service.

I acted and behold, service was joy.”

- Rabindranath Tagore

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