ROSEMARIE ORTIZ

WILLIAM ORTIZ 13w

Visiting our mom (25Jul2026)

Myself and my siblings visiting mom after her brother, Alfred Souza’s celebration of Life service.

Missing you Aunty Rose 🌹

Vita still cries every time we visit. Love you 😍

WILLIAM ORTIZ 67w

Moms Headstone is finally installed 12JUL25

Yay! After almost a year since she passed the Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery finally received and installed my moms headstone. Very disappointed in the cemetery's handling of her headstone but im glad that ordeal is now over and my mother finally got the recognition she deserved! I know she would have loved the rose borders.🌹❤️

WILLIAM ORTIZ 74w

Happy Heavenly Birthday Mom!😇❤️

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mom!😇🎂🎊 Today (24MAY2025) we celebrate you and the incredible life you lived. Thank you for being the best mom anyone could ever ask for. Your love, strength, and guidance shaped not only my life, but also the lives of my daughters and our entire family. You gave us countless beautiful memories that we’ll cherish forever. Not a day goes by that we don’t miss you deeply. Your presence is still felt in everything we do, and your legacy lives on through all of us. We love you always. Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mom.❤️❤️❤️

WILLIAM ORTIZ 96w

Our 1st Christmas without Mom 24DEC2024

Today I stopped by to visit Mom and wish her a Merry Heavenly Christmas! It's bitter sweet because its our first Christmas without seeing her big beautiful smile and hearing her voice as she excitingly greets me as her "Big Baby" when I would visit her. My mom loved the Holidays, especially Christmas. It was a time for her to be with family, eat good food and share lots of laughs, stories and gifts with her loved ones. One thing that i will always miss about my mom during the Christmas season is her inability to keep her gifts a secret lol. She would get soo excited about Christmas that she always ended up spilling the beans on what she gave you, even if you told her you want to be surprised, she'd end up inadvertently disclosing what she got you anyway during casual conversation. Her excuse was always, I'm sorry, I'm Portagee....lol. She was funny like that. Although Christmas is not the same without her, it brings me some comfort to still include her during the Holidays by being able to visit her and wish her a very Merry Heavenly Christmas! Rest In Love Mom, We love you Always! P.S. We're still waiting for your Headstone mom but it should be arriving soon.

WILLIAM ORTIZ 102w

Visiting Mom on 10 Nov 2024

I made it a point to visit mom today to tell her that I miss her and love her very much but also to let her know the results of the U.S election. Mom was a huuuuge Trump supporter and would be very excited to know that he was overwhelmingly elected back to the White House by "We The People". She passed before she was able to cast her vote in the General election for Trump but she was happy that i was able to assist her in casting her vote during the Primary election. Im sure shes in heaven smiling down on us knowing that her family will have a brighter future due to Trump being President again. I love you mom and ill visit you again soon!🤗❤️ Love, ~William~

WILLIAM ORTIZ 105w

Will & Wendi Visiting Mom 18 OCT 2024

We love you and we miss you Mom! It's still difficult to believe that your gone but it helps to know that you are pain free now and enjoying yourself in Heaven and reunited with Wilfred and our Grandparents. As you know, today is Wendi's birthday so we wanted to spend the morning with you and tell you that we love you and miss you . Rest in Love Mom!

Visiting Mom October 14, 2024

Visiting Mom before flying back home to Kauai. Our family home doesn’t feel like a home without you. Its quiet, empty, dark and unwelcoming. I miss you so much mom. This is our new norm.

WILLIAM ORTIZ 106w

A EULOGY FOR MY MOM (ROSEMARIE SOUZA ORTIZ)

Family and Friends, Good Morning and again, thank you all for being here today to honor and celebrate the life of my beloved mother, Rosemarie Ortiz. It’s difficult to find the right words to do justice to such a remarkable woman, but I hope to share a few memories and reflections that capture her loving, thoughtful, and selfless nature. You see, my mom was not just a mother; she was a guiding light, a source of warmth, and the very heart and soul of our family, and I am deeply grateful to have the opportunity to share a bit of her story with all of you here today. My mother lived a simple yet full and happy life, achieving everything she ever wanted. Her greatest dream was to have a relationship with God, get married, have a home, and raise a large and loving family, and I am happy to say, she fulfilled all her dreams. For 54 years, she was a loving wife, dedicated to her children, grandchildren, and her extended family. She absolutely loved attending family gatherings and traveling around the country with them. She also found immense joy in being a homemaker and in helping others, especially her family and friends. As a young girl, my mom truly loved working outdoors on the “Souza Brothers Dairy farm”, which was located on the east side of Kane'ohe. Her fondest childhood memories were those days spent with her dad and helping him to milk the cows at the Dairy. She would always tell us how lucky she was to grow up at the Dairy farm. She loved all the animals, and she especially loved working with her dad, her uncles & her brothers. I lost count of how many times I had heard her re-tell those stories of when she was a little girl playing & working at the Dairy Farm, but I didn’t mind listening to them over and over again because each time she would tell them, her face would light up with happiness as she recounted a memory. It was like she was re-living her childhood and those blissful moments in a place that felt like Heaven to her, and in many ways, it was. The Dairy farm was an integral part of her life, as that is where she learned from an early age the meaning of hard work, resiliency and love of God and Family. It was also on the Dairy farm back in 1968 where she met her life partner, beloved Husband and personal comedian, my father Wilbert Ortiz. He always had a way of making her laugh, even during hard and difficult times when she thought it was impossible for her to laugh, she still did. Thank you for that dad! They dated for several years and formed a family together with his son Wilbert Jr. after they got married on 06 March 1970. Shortly after she graduated from Castle High School, they had their first child together on 30 August 1970 and named him Wilfred. They would later go on to grow their family together by having four more children; William (me), my sister Regina and my twin brothers Daniel and David. If you knew my mom, you knew that she loved sending handwritten letters or post cards to family and friends, especially during the holiday season. I’m sure a lot of you in this room today have probably at one time or another, received a Christmas card, or a birthday card or graduation card from my mother. It didn’t matter how busy she was or how little money she had, she always made time & effort to write to her loved ones! I remember when I joined the Navy in 1996, I was extremely fortunate to receive numerous handwritten letters from my mother, letters that I still have and cherish till this day. As inspiration for her eulogy, I re-read every single one of her letters that she wrote to me during the 2years I was away from home and as I read them, the central theme that stood out to me from every one of her letters was that “Her children were her life, and she would do anything for us”! She would say that a lot. Even though she was writing to me, she always made the effort to update me on how my brothers and my sister were doing and that she loved us all very much. It was her constant stream of letters that kept me connected to my family and helped me get through tough and lonely times during my early years in the Navy. MOM, I never told you this, but you were the real reason why I fought so hard to stay stationed here in Hawaii for my entire Naval Career; and I’m glad I did. There is no one else I would rather have had than you, to raise my two daughters Jasmine and Sabrina while her parents were working or deployed on Ships while in the Navy. It’s because of your hard work, family values and unconditional love that they are both successful young women today. Thank you for that MOM! My mom was a loving and thoughtful person, always putting the needs of others before her own. Even in the toughest of times, she remained selfless, thinking only of her family and friends above everything else. One of my most vivid memories of my mom is the sheer amazement she felt during her illness by the outpouring of love and support she received from everyone. Even as she was confined to the hospital and later at home, she was overwhelmed by the amount of flowers, get-well cards, food and gifts that poured in. The surprise visits, especially from those who flew in from the mainland just to see her, left her in awe. She often expressed disbelief, saying she “had no idea she had touched so many lives in such a positive way”. But my siblings and I would remind her, “Mom, of course you had that kind of effect on people. You are the heart and soul of our family—the nucleus that keeps us all connected.” We would remind her that “ mom, you raised a village, and now it’s time for the village to take care of you”! She would smile with pride and reply, “at least I raised you guys the right way”, and she did. You see, my Mom was always the one who kept in touch and knew what was happening with everyone in our extended family. Whether it was the Ortiz family, the Souza family, the Torres family, the Nobriga family, the Peirra family or any other family, it didn’t matter, to her, everyone was just family. If you wanted to know how so and so was doing, you would talk to her. She was the matriarch of all our families, and she will be sorely missed. My mom’s life was her family and she was a fierce defender of them. She never wanted to see her children or grandchildren cry because she loved us all so much that she did not want to see us hurting or in pain. She would rather absorb that pain herself than see her family sad or in sorrow. I remember after my mom got sick, her grandson Hunter flew home from Chicago where he attends college and when he saw my mother, he gave her a great big hug and started to weep. My mom told him “Don’t cry Hunter, you’re a boy, no cry”. You see, even though she was the one who was sick and in pain, that was nothing compared to the pain of seeing her grandson sad and hurting. My mother was the definition of the word “Selfless” and if she could, she would choose to take away the pain and sorrow of all her children and grandchildren even if that meant bearing it all herself. Even while she was in the hospital, she only worried about my father despite everything she was going thru and asked us kids to make sure we took care of him too. Don’t worry MOM, we will! My mother was also our family historian. I think I could probably say with confidence that no one in our family has more photo albums or family history documents than my mom, and I’m not talking about digital photos. My mom was old school and loved hard copy photos and always took the time to write the dates and names in the back of each photo. My mother loved pictures, especially pictures of her family. To her, it was a way of immortalizing her family and passing down the legacy she created for future generations to enjoy. Over the years, my mom always wanted me to digitize her tubs full of photo albums & loose pictures for everyone to have and enjoy. It was an overwhelming and daunting task to say the least. While she was with us, I only managed to digitize 2 or 3 of her photo albums, far shy of her entire collection. In many ways, I feel like she was training myself and her grandson Zachston, to take up the mantle of being family historians, long after she was gone, only because she would routinely send us old family pictures to scan and digitize and she would explain to us in detail who the individuals in the photos were and why they were special. She would often turn to her Grandson Zachston, to help her research and find information online, about our family history and lineage. My mother took great pride in being the caretaker of our family history and I am proud to say that MOM; you taught us well, and we will be honored to take up the mantle of family historians now that you are away in Heaven. After she passed, I made it my mission, to complete my mom’s dream to have all her family Albums and pictures, digitized for everyone to have, love, share and enjoy. It’s what she always wanted and I’m proud to stand here today and tell you that Mom, it’s DONE, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I took an entire month off from work just to get it done and even went a step further by creating a memorial website in remembrance of my mom. If you look at the back of my mother’s program, at the very bottom you will see a Turning Hearts QR Code. If you scan that QR code with your Smartphones Camera, it will take you to my mom’s memorial webpage, where family, friends and future generations can read, view and listen to her amazing life’s story. Those who visit the website or her final resting place can also share & upload their own photos or memories that they shared with my mother in the form of Tributes. In this way, my mom Shall NEVER be forgotten and instead, her legacy will continue to live on and grow, long after she is gone. For myself and my siblings, one of the things we will miss most about our mom is her voice and all her funny sayings like “no act all Ton-ta-don ahh boy, ill boop your head one” (lol). I heard that one a lot when I was a growing up because as my siblings could tell you (especially my sister), I was a handful………., ok I was naughty, but she loved me anyway…lol. She loved all of us, despite our shortcomings. Another phrase I’ll miss her saying is “Stop being a Babooze ahh”! She would say that if you did something stupid, again, I heard that a lot when I was growing up lol. She also had a unique way of expressing herself with her hands and she would always tell people, “No mind me, I’m portage, we talk with our hands” and she did too, I remember it used to drive my one dog “Foxi” nuts lol. Every time she would talk my dog would bark at her because she was just so passionate and animated with her hands as she was telling her stories…lol. But of everything I will miss about my mom, I think what I will miss the most, are those random text messages my mom used to send, messages that simply said, "Love you, Baby!" That’s what she always called us kids, "Her Babies." It didn’t matter to her that we’re all middle aged now and over the age of 40 and starting to gray; she still proudly called us her babies to everyone, even strangers out in public. I remember when I was still in High School, my mom attended one of my track and field events and I was the anchor for my team in the 4 x 100 meter relay race and even though my mom was far away up in the bleachers, I could still hear her screaming and cheering me on as I received the baton in my hand and started racing towards the finish line. I could hear her screaming above everyone else “That’s my baby, Go William Go”! She was funny like that. I remember that day like it was yesterday. My Mother was always our biggest Cheerleader. We ended up winning 1st place that day and she was so proud. Her pride in us and her unyielding love will be deeply missed by us all. Another cherished memory that will always stay with me is how she spent her final moments. Growing up, Mom always made it clear that she never wanted to end up in a care home or facility. She often shared her fears after seeing how sad and lonely her grandmother was when she was admitted to a care home facility located on the North Shore of Oahu. She wanted nothing more than to spend her final days at home, surrounded by those she loved. And in her final moments, she got exactly what she wished for, with her family and loved ones surrounding her at home, my sister holding her hand while playing her favorite song, "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse. It was immediately after the song ended that she took her final breaths and peacefully joined my brother Wilfred and my grandparents in Heaven. It was just as she had imagined, her perfect ending for a life well lived. I want my mother to be remembered for the remarkable woman she was. Up until her passing, she cherished every day as a gift from God. She lived life to the fullest, celebrating her role as a loving wife, supportive mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. She had a heart of gold and an infectious smile that could brighten any room she was in. Her family was her life, and she would do anything for us and before she passed, she told us that she had "No Regrets” and although she has gone to Heaven, she will be missed but NEVER forgotten. Mom, you were the embodiment of love and selflessness. You lived a full and happy life, and your spirit will continue to shine in our hearts. Thank you for everything you gave to us and for all the memories we will always cherish. We love you and we miss you Mom. You will always live forever in our Hearts. May you rest in peace Mom, We Love you! THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Random photos

I could always vent to Aunty and no matter what she always has my back! 💕🥰🙏

Mom’s service

All mom’s children come down to lay mom to Rest. It was definitely a hard day for all of us.

After mom’s service

Mommy, here is your village that you raised and loved. We came together after your service to comfort one another and celebrate your life. You are so loved and will be missed tremendously.

Tribute letter to mom

Dear Mom,   First off, I just want to tell you how much I miss you and how hard it’s been every single day since God called you home. I miss you so much it hurts. I miss our talks, I miss seeing your Face, hearing your voice and your smile. Most of the time I feel like this is all just a bad nightmare that I can’t wake up from and that when I do wake up, you’ll be there telling me how silly this all sounds. I keep thinking that you’re at the store without me and you’ll be home any time now. I still look for you in the room; I still pick up the phone three times a day to call you. I still wake up waiting to hear you say HI my baby girl, how are you. I’ll always be your baby girl You took so much pride in me. You loved me with all of your heart and I was your baby girl. even though you aren’t physically here anymore.. I will always be your baby. No matter where life takes me, I will always take a part of you with me, always. I stand here strong and proud with the thought that I came to life through you. You are more than the person who gave me life. You are The keeper of my secrets. You were my anchor in the chaotic world. There are no words to explain our beautiful relationship. Anything I try to say feels like less than what we (have) had. I celebrate your strength, and wisdom, and your ability to selflessly mother everyone. In your heart lies the purest form of love I will ever know. I swear your prayers Have saved me more than once. I celebrate all the beautiful times we’ve experienced and the beautiful times I continue to have in my infinite imagination… First you carried me for nine months and now I will carry you with me throughout my life. I hold our love, which is strong and light, pure and funny, and endless, for all the generations to come in our family. Through my children and their possible children they will all know you and feel you! I’m so grateful to be part of your strong legacy. I honor all that you taught me and I continue to grow and learn. I cherish the 45 years I spent with you. I did not move on; I moved forward, with you, hand in hand! I will make you proud Losing you has given me purpose. I will continue to live everyday for you.  I will be the best version of me. I will make you proud. With every choice, every decision, every step I take for the rest of my life, I will honor you. Life without you is hard, and it probably always will be, but I will live this life for you momma I celebrate your life today. You may be gone but all that love remains. It warms and comforts and its foundation is as real as ever. My beautiful mother, today and every single day from now on, your soul is free and happy! You took all of me with you when you left. Even though I know I’ll see you again someday, that doesn’t ease the pain I feel daily. I hope that heaven is beautiful; that it’s everything you ever imagined it would be. I hope you sitting down playing catch up with Wilfred, Grandma and Grandpa. I am going to miss you every single day for the rest of my life. I’ll love you until I take my final breath. Your ever-loving daughter”

Celebrating aunty roses 🌹 b-day

It brought tears to her eyes…she was always thankful for any little gestures anyone did for her we love you aunty 🌹

Aunty rose laughing and shearing her spirt with us

Aunty rose is so nice and loved she will always be remembered and will never be forgotten 🩷 vitaliana