First I want to write that I know you would have never chosen to be referred to as GIGI but that is what everyone knew you by. You were a beautiful young woman and always had a heart of gold, You married daddy at 19, and went on to have your first daughter Michele at 21, and I came along 7 and a half years later. You were an awesome mother from the start, you had it rough and went through a lot during these years but you stayed married for 17 years, at which time you became a single mother, you were left with no job, no money and 2 daughter's to support, you worked 3 jobs at times just to support us. You always did whatever you had to do to make sure Michele and I had what we needed and wanted. You worked so hard and never complained and did it alone, you would walk to work if it meant giving us your last dollar. I want people to know the truth and to know how hard you worked up until you were 65 to provide for your family. You worked so many different jobs just to put a roof over our heads and food in our mouth's. You made sure we never went hungry or went without anything we needed, you sacrificed so much for me and Michele. Than you found out I was going to have a baby at 18 and you were so upset not just that I was pregnant but that I was too afraid to tell you and waited 8 months to get healthcare, you went right into action and had me an appointment the next day, you were at the hospital when Raquel was born and you were so happy and proud to have this beautiful little girl in your life, although I can still hear you saying Bridget your babies were not little they came out the size of a 3 month old, and with Raquel you even shared duties with me, you would wake up with her one night and I would do the next, laying in the living , one of us on the couch and the other on a cot, until you fell off the cot, (lol) but you helped raise Raquel and taught her so much and she is so much a part of you. You were there for Alexis and Kylie also, you loved them like they were your children and they are so lucky to have had you in their lives for so long, you never judged me or put me down for having kids young and you treated Jose as the son you never had. It was so hard to watch you go through the pain of having Diabetes, but at first you kept on working and it just progressed until you had to retire, I knew how hard that was for you because you are such a strong independent woman and you didn't want anything to control you. We watched as your Diabetes progressed, and I know how hard it was on you when I moved to North Carolina, but you made sure nothing interfered with you seeing your granddaughter's, and you spent every Thanksgiving here, and the girl's came to your house for the summer. I will never forget how proud you were to watch Alexis graduate High school a year early, and you watched Raquel go from a teen to a young woman, Kylie still spent summers with you until last year. 2018 your Diabetes was getting worse and it was the first Thanksgiving you weren't able to come, but than you got out of the hospital and were determined no matter how bad you felt to come here for Christmas, and I know you knew what the ending was, but you still managed to make it the most amazing Christmas we have had. we were so lucky to have you here and get a chance to finally take care of you for once in your life. But I know you were ready to go and needed to, because you just were too strong of a woman to have to be dependent on anyone, and I was crushed when you passed and so were the girls and Jose, but we choose now to remember all the good times we had and the goofy things you said and did, you could always make us laugh. I am just so happy that the girl's and Jose and I got to spend those last 3 weeks with you, I know you knew what was coming and you wanted to be with the girl's and you were, and you will forever be in our hearts and minds and soul, you are a part of each one of us and I couldn't have been luckier than to have you as my mother, you are a symbol of strength, stability, love and always make sure you let your loved ones know how you feel. I miss you so deeply, but I understand why you had to go and I choose to remember you as the woman you would want us ALL to remember that strong, determined, hard working woman that loved her daughters and granddaughter's more than herself. We couldn't have asked for a better role model. When people joke and sat god broke the mold after making them they are joking, but with you it's true because there will never be another woman like you, you were an amazing mother and granddaughter and I so proud to have been able to call you mom.