Memorial Funds for my late mother

Frances Marjory De La Reza, my mother, passed away Tuesday, March 14, 2017, due to heart failure.

She was a one-of-a-kind woman. That phrase is often used, but seldom do we find people that touch as many hearts with their kindness and generosity as those who knew Frances.

Following in her sister Anne's footsteps, she made the long journey from England to America on boat. Frances met my father in San Francisco's Emporium (now Stonestown), first settling down together in Pacifica, then later moving to Walnut Creek with their new son, where they remained for the rest of her life.

A devout Roman Catholic, she seldom missed early morning Sunday mass. She exemplified the best side of Christianity: always thinking of others first, and treating them as she would like to be treated. During her life, she always gave to charities, including Paralyzed Veterans of America, American Institute for Cancer Research, and St. Luke's Hospital (SF).

Not only giving to organizations, she took care of family as well. Famous within our circles for her baking and cooking skills, her English-style shortbread was always in high demand around the holidays. Even after she stopped baking as much due to aging, she always made sure to make a whole set for our longtime mailman, Bill, each year.

More than that, she was always a dutiful, loving wife to my father, and the best mother that any son could hope for. She was not my biological mother, but she raised me as her own with all the attention and love in the world. A proper English woman, she instilled a strong sense of manners and honesty in me that I attempt to carry to this day.

She really was the proverbial glue that held the family together, and kept careful track of family member's birthdays and anniversaries, handwriting letters to them even well into the age of the internet. We are all the better to have known her.

Our family was hit hard by her death, as she had been in and out of the hospital constantly, getting better then taking a sudden turn for the worse. On the way to seeing her for the final time in the hospital, my father also had his longtime car totaled by someone pulling out of their parking spot, so this has been an especially hard time for him, heartbroken and without a vehicle.

In order to celebrate her life, my father and I are putting together a memorial service, including mass, for my mother, at a local Funeral Service Provider. All donations will go towards covering the costs which include:

Family viewing of the body
Cremation
Renting of the facilities for the memorial
Food and beverage costs for the memorial social room
Urn costs
Death certificates

Any donations received once the cost has been covered can be put towards offsetting the cost of getting a new car for my father, or put towards a specified charity of your choosing, as that was something Mom would have done.

**DATES HAVE BEEN FINALIZED**

7:00 P.M. March 31st, 2017 at Oak Park Hills Chapel (3111 N. Main St., Walnut Creek) 

This will be the rosary and memorial service for Frances.

11:00 A.M. April 1st, 2017 at St. Francis of Assisi Church 860 Oak Grove Rd, Concord

This is the same time and date but different place. Frances was a parishoner of 41 years at St. Francis of Assisi, so the local Father decided it would only be appropriate to have the actual mass at the church.

There will still be food and drink at the 11:00 Mass in a side room, but no food and drink at the 7:00 PM rosary on the previous day. Please make a note of this and have something beforehand on March 31st.


Don't feel pressured to give unless it is something you can do. There are more ways to help than just money. Spread this message. Be there in times of need, after we finish mourning. Your support in these hard times are always appreciated.

Love,


Rodrigo de la Reza