I have many great memories of my cousin, George Silva. Many of those memories involve three themes: Family, Music, and Work Hard.
Family
• His relationship with Carmen was a model for a life-giving, sacramental marriage. Both working every day to grow closer to God and to each other. Both knowing that for a relationship to grow you need to focus on it. What a great example to all married couples.
• The love George had for his boys was evident to all that knew him.
• As we grew up I saw George many times not hanging out with the kids his age but with the adult Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts, eagerly hearing their stories and learning from them.
Music
• George loved music and spent countless hours singing, creating, studying, analyzing, listening, and sometimes just enjoying music.
• I was part of George and Arnold’s band for a few years and it was a lot of fun and a blessing to be part of it.
• George’s approach to music in some ways defined how he approached life. George was focused, determined, always looking to improve and learn, and he seemed to be in the “present”. When you are playing music, you can’t be thinking of something else and when I was with George, I always felt like he was there, not thinking about something else.
• He loved to share music with his family. We always played at family gatherings and he loved to bring up featured singers, i.e. Norma, his Mom and my Mom!
Work hard
• George didn’t wait for things to happen, he made them happen.
• He knew there were no short cuts; just got to dive in and get to work.
• He saved me when I was taking my first College Calculus course. I was completely lost, and he patiently took time away from his studies to give me guidance and encouragement.
Thank you, George, for being a role model to me your younger cousin that looked up to you. Thank you, George, for being a kind loving person that shared yourself and your gifts with us. You made the world a better place. God bless you George, Carmen, the boys and all our family.
