Meet Carmen Anaya-Acevedo, one of the countless women who raised her children by herself. Three of them including my dear wife Frances. Putting food on the table. Buying them clothes. Giving them shelter. Making sure they get an education. It wasn’t easy, but she pulled it off. Carmen passed away on Thursday evening.
What does all of this have to do with music? Carmen wasn’t some famous music artist, but to me she was a true rock star. She was like a second mother; in fact, I used to call her “mami.” Carmen was an integral part of my family. She lived with us for many years until we could no longer safely care for her. For the past six years, she was in a nursing home. It was one of the hardest decisions we needed to make.

In April this year, Carmen’s already compromised health unfortunately took a turn to the worse. She had a series of setbacks that required various hospitalizations. While it appeared her condition had stabilized as of last Wednesday and her treating physician told us she was an incredibly strong lady, given what she had gone through, things suddenly deteriorated on Thursday afternoon. Within less than an hour, she was gone.
Her heart gave up. Or perhaps she was too tired to keep fighting and decided to check out. If it was the latter, I couldn’t blame her. She had been through so much. Carmen was a woman of faith and believed death eventually will lead to something good. I really hope she’s right about that.
Carmen was a happy person who liked to talk a lot and socialize with other folks. She also loved music and dancing. While raising her children in Puerto Rico, she listened to lots of ’80s music. My wife told me one of her favorite tunes from that era was Africa by Toto. Every time that song was playing on the radio, it would make her happy. Carmen may be gone, but she’ll always be with me in my heart. This is for you!
Sorry for your loss – how old was she when Africa came out?
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Thanks, Graham. She was 43 years at the time.
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It’s cool she still liked new music at that point.
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A lovely tribute to her, Christian. My condolences to you and your wife.
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Thanks, I appreciate it. Usually not the kind of topic I discuss on the blog. Still, it felt right.
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Lieber Christian,
Worte koennen nicht beschreiben, was ich mit Dir fuehle. Deshalb auch ganz bewusst meine Worte auf Deutsch.
Carmen muss eine wundervolle Person gewesen sein. Ihr habt nun einen weiteren gemeinsamen Schatz zu hueten, an den Ihr auch erfreuen koennt.
Herzliche Gruesse aus Wien!
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Vielen Dank für Deine Anteilnahme, Sori. Ich bin sehr gerührt.
Zwar mußte man realistischerweise damit rechnen, daß Carmens Tage gezählt waren, aber letztlich kam ihr Tod dann doch sehr plötzlich. Und selbst wenn man damit rechnet, ist man wohl nie wirklich darauf vorbereitet.
Glücklicherweise haben wir schöne Unterstützung von Familie und Carmens Kongregation der Zeugen Jehowas. Es ist wirklich beeindruckend wie viel Anteilnahme wir insbesondere von letzteren bekommen haben.
Noch einmal vielen Dank für Deine persönlichen Worte.
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My condolences. Nice tribute. Even better that she knew a good tune when she heard one.
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Thanks, Jim, appreciate it!
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Puts things in perspective. Good stuff Christian.
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I just saw this…I’m was about to email…I’m so sorry Christian…she sounds like a great woman who had a hard life but made the best out of it. I’m glad she had faith.
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Thanks, Max. Carmen lived with us for a number of years and was like a second mom to me. Losing her was definitely tough. But now she can no longer suffer, which is a consolation.
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Yea I know this is really tough on your wife…I’m sorry again Christian.
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