The earliest memory I have of Valerie Gustilo was when my brother and I were back in Assumption. I was maybe in 6th grade, my brother in 2nd. Valerie was Joey's classmate. She was the girl with the Beauty and the Beast stuff. She had the lunch box, the ruler, pencils, you name it. And one thing about her in that age even then was that she was quite a fun character and very hard to miss.A few months later, she was known to me even more as the daughter of my dentist. Memories of braces come to mind quickly.
A few years later, after graduating from college at UP, I got to meet up with Valerie again during the MBA days (my gawsh!). She was always the center of the laughter and the best person to just dish out the tsismis with when things would be blah. She was still definitely quite the character.
They were just about to graduate from highschool and as the "manang" I did what I could to share whatever common sense I had learned during my college years. But when they went off to their own colleges, I went back to the life that I was just then beginning to make for myself. Since then, I would bump into her once in a while. Text her every now and then. But never like the days we had way back. You really miss those days.
Last week I heard she needed blood. She was B positive. Very hard to find. But I had no idea she would be passing away this soon in the prime of her life. Last Thursday, April 22, Val went back to our Lord, leaving a hole in our lives that only she could fill. We will miss you, Val. WE already do.
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