Carlos J. Hernandez 1941-2009

My father, Carlos, passed away on May 17 after suffering a stroke almost a year ago.

He came to this country from Colombia, South America in his mid 20s. He had the good fortune of meeting my mother at a party and they married soon after. He was a carpenter, storyteller, lover of fishing and a good party.

He loved his kids and his grandchild, Jaedin as well as a host of miscellaneous pets and good friends. He was especially close to his two sisters, Leonor and Beatriz - my aunts, who took the very best care of him, in their house, until the end. He was visited by many friends and family in his last days, which brought great comfort to us.

I wish he could have met his granddaughter Lola as well as another granddaughter in the making from Santi, my brother and his wife Bobbi.

I know he is at peace now and will be with us all for the upcoming births.

Sunny

Twelve years ago Maggie was driving to work when she saw a big, black lab wandering loose near the road. The dog looked like it had been roaming for a while, its coat was dirty and she had no collar or tags. After pulling over, Maggie called out to the dog, coaxing her to the open back door of the car. Sunny trotted over and jumped right in. And that is how Sunny came into Maggie's life.

Sunny was a beautiful dog, with the broad head, wide otter tail, deep chest, and calm nature of the breed. She would trot when she was happy or excited, putting an extra bounce into each step, her tail happily woggling back and forth. Her mouth was often filled with a shoe, toy, or whatever was handy to welcome you home with a present. She also had a wide assortment of noises from a deep sigh of contentment when she snuggled up close on the bed to sleep, to an uncountable number of big dog woofs of satisfaction that covered the gamut from an exclamation over a great meal to the rapture of a good belly rub. She would eat just about anything and often did just that, enjoying all food whether it was sirloin steak or the latest bag of garbage with equal zest.


Three days after turning seventeen it was finally time for Sunny to leave us, she battled a serious urinary tract infection that damaged her kidneys and led to kidney failure. She was strong and sweet till the end. We spent our final day with her grooming her, napping with her, and giving her lots of love. Here are some pictures from that final day, we'll miss her very much and hope to see her again someday if we are lucky.