Last week, my aunt passed kind of suddenly, kind of not suddenly. After a bout with cancer and a couple rounds of treatment, she fell ill and slipped away in her sleep. She was a wonderful, wonderful person. She was happy and clear-headed, helpful and considerate.

She’s my dad’s sister. I’ve known her all my life. She was always kind and light-hearted. As I grew up, we had interesting and fun conversations. On holidays, she would linger and chit chat for hours. We would go to museums all over LA.

She and her husband lived in Santa Barbara with a cat. Their little boutique-y house is perched on the Santa Barbara Rivera . I loved to visit them. Their house had stunning views of the water, the city, and the mountains. She gave us ad hoc art lessons on the deck, and took us to local botanical gardens, museums, and restaurants.

These are pictures from Christmas; she’s sitting next to me. She stayed chipper and strong. I will miss you, Auntie Day. Her real name was Judy; “Day” is an American-ization of Chinese “big sister”.

Btw, on her last day, we rushed up to Santa Barbara to see her in the hospital. The SB Cottage Hospital is very nice. (I work in medical device industry and was gaping at the awesome setup in the ICU. The rooms have either a mountain or ocean view, with balconies and large windows. Stunning, really.)

Update on 3/1/16, Auntie’s obituary in the Santa Barbara Independent. Lovely, just lovely. There will be a memorial service at Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, 1205 San Antonio Creek Rd., from 2:00-5:00pm on Saturday, March 12, 2016.