Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Maria Veronica Uytana was the first born to her parents, Adelaida and Louis Uytana, in Manila, Philippines, in 1955. Her mother was a homemaker, while her father worked as an office manager in a construction company. When Roni was one-year-old, her father earned a job at an insurance company and the family moved to Okinawa. Roni started her education early, beginning nursery school at the age of two. She was raised in the Catholic religion with her siblings Victoria, Valerie, Vinson and Vivienne. Roni was a very intelligent, happy child, who liked to read a lot. By the age of 10, she had read all of the books on the bookcase at home. She became a regional spelling bee champion and went on to compete in the National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. She made it into the final round, but lost on the spelling of the word "quirt." Her family was always very proud of her accomplishments. Truly, she had a wonderful childhood in Okinawa with many friends who are still close today such as Corito, Angeli, and LuAnn. They were known as the four Amigos and they shared many days at the beach, playing guitar, singing songs, and enjoying good food.

In 1972, the family moved to the United States and settled in Glendale, California. As a teenager, Roni loved listening to music by singers such as John Denver, the Beatles, the Mamas & the Papas, and James Taylor. She gave her sisters an appreciation of great music as well. With athletic interests, she liked cheerleading and racquetball. Roni was a member of Mensa International and graduated at the young age of 17 from Christ the King School. She went on to Pomona College, where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Geology. She decided to change her name to Veronica Feliciano Uytana. Taking her education a step further, she received her Master's degree in Geology at the University of Arizona, Tucson and University of Colorado, Boulder. She made a good friend, Pat, while participating in field camp. For a season, she lived in Alaska and worked with the prospecting team for Shell Oil. She worked at base camps, flew around in helicopters for prospecting, and even had a shotgun to protect her team from bears. Moving to Reno, Nevada, she became a financial planner. It was in Reno where she met her soulmate, Richard. The couple had a lot in common. Roni and Richard were best friends and partners for the next 25 years.

Since Roni's family was in Glendale and Richard wanted to get into the film industry, the couple moved to Southern California. Reinventing herself again, Roni earned a degree in law from Loyola Law School. In 1998, she went through a series of interviews with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. Her final interview was with District Attorney Gil Garcetti. At the end of the interview, Garcetti stood up and reached for Roni's hand saying, "I never hire in office, but with you, I'd like to make an exception. Would you like to come aboard?" Roni was thrilled with the opportunity and she accepted his offer. Her work involved prosecuting juvenile delinquents. She worked as an Assistant District Attorney for the next seven years.

Sadly, Roni's mother had passed away in 1995. She was very close with her mother. A few months after her mother's passing, Roni was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she never let her diagnosis or treatment over the next 15 years stop her from living life. She made a conscious decision to enjoy everything and everyone in her life. Gil Garcetti was a cancer survivor and he had a great understanding of what Roni was going through. He was very compassionate and supported her, as she continued her work.

Roni enjoyed celebrating holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, with her family. She was a wonderful cook, who liked to experiment. She took after her mother, because her mother would cook delicious meals for 50 to 60 people when she was growing up. Roni and Vivienne could get into discussions about how many eggs to put into flan or custard. Roni discovered there are 20 different recipes for flan. She introduced her family to artichokes and real Longhorn Colby cheese. At one time, she belonged to a natural food co-op and she was very adamant about eating organic food. She also enjoyed drinking a variety of teas.

Roni was a talented writer and an avid reader her entire life. Her favorite author was Jane Austen, but she also enjoyed the science fiction fantasy novels of Anne McCaffrey. She was also a big supporter of women and women's rights. With a love of language, Roni collected inspirational quotes with her friend, Elaine. Together they collected hundreds of quotes and shared them with friends through e-mail. Staying fit, Roni enjoyed playing tennis with Richard. She followed the sport of tennis taking in an interest in players such as Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal. Roni also loved to laugh and have fun. Two years ago, she dressed as a Hollywood drag queen for the world's biggest Halloween party in West Hollywood. She was in her wheelchair, wearing fabulous makeup and eyelashes. As Richard pushed her wheelchair, everyone stopped and posed with her. She had so much fun at the party.

Even when Roni's cancer spread, she was a fighter who chose an option that her friends wouldn't have considered. It was an alternative radical chemotherapy administered through her skull to attack the brain cancer. She once went through a high dose radiation treatment on her brain and then flew to New Zealand that night to a Cancer Center. She lived life her way and she was self-motivated as she listened to meditative and healing music. Roni was a strong woman. She always believed she could be cured. She wouldn't tolerate anything negative around her. She was part of the Healing Odyssey in Long Beach and she believed in the power of the mind. She spent 14 years at stage four and she encouraged other patients to fight. In many ways, Roni inspired her doctors, as she was a survivor who chose to live life.

Over the years, Roni enjoyed travels all over the world to India, Europe, New Zealand, and the Philippines to visit relatives. She climbed the mountains of Nepal, rafted down a river in Costa Rica, ate exotic foods in Morocco, used her "aussie" accent Down Under in Australia, and swam with the dolphins in Hawaii. She loved each and every adventure. And, Roni had such a generous heart. When negotiating for real estate, she was stalwart and self-actualized...but she was happy to purposefully and absurdly overpay a poor homeless street vendor in Naples, Italy, for a worthless flashlight that to this day remains in her little green fanny pack--so emblematic of her openhearted generosity and compassion. If she gave money away, it was because she wanted to give. She donated time and money to many charitable causes through the course of her lifetime. In June 2008, she traveled with Richard to Lourdes, France, to visit the Sacred Springs and the Grotto, where visions of the Virgin Mary have appeared 18 times. Roni wept when she was immersed in the Baths of the Sanctuary. Roni and Richard met up with her family in Paris and took a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate her father's 80th birthday. A few months after visiting France, she had an amazing remission for a month in August 2008. She had an incredible gift of making friends and staying in touch for years. She was truly a gentle eloquent lady who touched many lives, as she was ready with a smile and a positive thought.

In her final months, every chance she had she whispered the words, "I love you," to everybody in her hospital room. Richard sang the song "You Raise Me Up" to Roni every day. Her family and friends were a constant presence by her bedside. Her last few days were spent off the ventilator, as she was breathing on her own. In the end, she waited until she was all alone in her room and passed away peacefully. The one song she asked to have played at her funeral was "Sand and Water" by Beth Nielsen Chapman. The lyrics are poignant:

"All alone I came into this world
All alone I will someday die
Solid stone is just sand and water, baby
Sand and water, and a million years gone by

I will see you in the light of a thousand suns
I will hear you in the sound of the waves
I will know you when I come, as we all will come
Through the doors beyond the grave"

The best part of Roni's life was always spending time with her family and friends. She once advised Vivienne "Don't worry about things you can't control." She also told Vinson to think about his future saying, "Some day you're going to be 35, what do you want to be when you get there?" Her advice to everyone would be to remember what she stood for in life. She believed it was okay to reinvent yourself, because she was always changing and setting new goals. Her family will miss her courageous presence. She was an organizer, a contributor and a woman who gave wonderful "big sister" advice. With all of the procedures she endured, she gained the respect of her doctors. She wanted to make the most of life and show other cancer patients what was possible. Roni Uytana was very spiritual. She believed in God and her family feels she has been reunited with her mother and sisters. May they rest in peace.

Veronica was preceded in death by her mother, Adelaida, and her sisters Victoria and Valerie. She is loved and remembered by her father Louis; brother Vinson; sister Vivienne; her partner of 25 years Richard; niece Sophia; nephew Jared; extended family and several close friends.

Memorial donations are welcome to the charity of your choice or Susan G. Komen for the Cure of Breast Cancer www.komen.org.

A Few of the Inspirational Quotes Collected by Roni Uytana:

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand -- strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO-HOO, What a Ride!!!!!!! – Maxine

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." – Maya Angelou

"Life's not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain." - Vivian Greene

"One of the most difficult things to give away is kindness – it is usually returned." - Cort R. Flint

"It starts with a dream. Dreams are how we figure out where we want to go. Life is how we get there. Always allow time for traffic." - Kermit the Frog

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." - Plato

"Most people don't know there are angels whose only job is to make sure you don't get too comfortable and fall asleep and miss your life." - Brian Andreas

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

"Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath." - Anonymous

"The tears happen. Endure, grieve and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive." - Anonymous