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Tears streamed from Bebe Canchola’s eyes as she held six balloons while listening to “Over the Rainbow.”
A hole opened in the overcast sky and the sun shone brightly onto the faces of 25 grieving people in the Rose Garden in Riverside Park Saturday at 5 p.m.
Canchola, a 56-year-old retiree from Alcoa, wrote notes on the paper butterflies attached to the balloon strings. She told her son Robert Roy Canchola that she misses him every day and that he remains a part of the family, no matter what.
“At this time with the balloon release, it’s like saying, I’m letting go a little bit, like baby steps,” Canchola said. “Eventually, you’re going to have to realize he’s no longer here. But I’m not there yet.”
Robert Roy died in 2003 at age 25 in an industrial accident at Formosa, leaving behind two children and a wife in Placedo. Canchola lost another child, Chastity, in childbirth in 1975.
The balloons released during the 14th annual Compassionate Friends of Victoria event honor the children, grandchildren and siblings families have lost.
“It’s different than losing anyone else,” chapter leader Linda Goss said. “You lose a child, that’s for life.”
When Goss releases a balloon, she believes her late son Jonathan Goss, who died at age 18 in a car wreck in 1979, receives the message.
Standing beside Canchola as the sky sucked in the balloons, Cecilia Zarate thought about when she could again meet her son Daniel Zarate Jr., who died in an Aug. 3, 2006 car wreck at 23 years old.
“One day, it’ll be my turn,” Zarate said, her eyes moist with tears.
Zarate feels better knowing she can honor her son. She knows he receives her messages because she gets signs. She met the recipient of her son’s heart and that person became a chef just like her son had been.
Her daughter April Mejia, 26, shared her mother’s pain, but they comforted each other. Mejia named her 10-month-old baby Danin Mejia after her late brother.
Taking care of Danin and Mejia’s daughter Jalea Garcia help Zarate get through the times of grief. She knows her son watches her. That makes her want to take care of the rest of the family.
Canchola recommends grieving people stay close to their family, church, God and friends. Her son Robert, born on Oct. 31, makes Halloween hard for her, but sharing with others going through the same pain helps.
“Keep in touch with people like this,” she said about the Compassionate Friends. “You need them.”
First United Methodist Church
407 N. Bridge St.
7 to 8:30 p.m.
For more information, call Linda Goss at 361-550-2173.