Personal Note: My father Jose De Jesus Briones Sr. died on February 23, 2010. Before I began I would like to thank all of you on behalf of my mother Eulalie, my sisters and myself, Hello. As I stand here, I see friends and relatives that have come great distances to be here for my Dad Jose De Jesus Briones Sr. I am humbled and quite frankly impressed at how he must have touched your lives. I can only speak for myself, but when I think of how he touched my life, the first word that comes to mind is ‘ADMIRATION’. I could stand here and list all the ways I admire him…but well, a lot of you have flights to catch. But I would like to share a few reasons why I admire my DAD. First and foremost was his love and commitment for my Mother Eulalia. And not just marital commitment, he was committed to making her HAPPY.  If it was important to her, it BECAME important to him. They were happy married for 55 years, and during his last days, his only concern was for Mom’s well being, and not his own impending mortality. I also admire him because of the KIND of father he was to us (my sisters and me). Yes, he loved us…very much. But he also instilled in us a core value system that defined who HE was. And that was a man who kept promises, honored commitment. He was a man of integrity. Whenever we stumbled, he could have accepted our bitching & moaning and advised us to take the easy way out and quit. But he’d have none of THAT. He fully expected us to see things through, all the way to the end without drama. “Do it. It just needs to be done.” he’d always say to me. If you’re here today, and I thank you for that that means that he touched your life in some way or another. That means that you’d miss him in some way or another. Yes, he will be missed. Friends will miss his coffee and corny jokes and his company, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren will miss his giddy-up rides and the comfy naps on his favorite recliner, My Mother Eulalia will miss having her best friend by her side. I will miss my Father Jose De Jesus Briones Sr., the source of my convictions. I will miss my inspiration.

You’re Son Jose De Jesus Briones Jr.