Maribell Gonzalez
To describe who Maribell was as a person is hard to put into words. If you were to ask her family and friends though they would describe her as selfless. She had a reputation for being as stubborn as her mom, from whom she got her strength, but filled with heart and soul. Maribell was the type of person who was not going to allow her disease dictate her life. If it meant pulling a shift with a chemo bag or with her J tubes, then that’s what she was going to do. Her passion was people and it showed in her work and in her personal life. She was a dedicated, caring, and compassionate nurse to all her patients, often going above and beyond. She touched the lives of many and left a lifelong imprint on those who crossed her path. She took the time to care for others and often put their needs above her own. Always eager to help, Maribell was always the first step up wherever needed. She was a very strong, amazing, and loving person with the biggest heart, dubbed as “Wonder Woman” by her friends.
Maribell had a smile that would fill the room and an energy that was equally contagious. Her children were the light of her life, and she was their biggest cheerleader. She would tell you herself, that her kids were her greatest accomplishment, and that her adopted boys were her greatest gift from God. Maribell was an overcomer, a fighter, and a true hero right up until the end. Family was everything to her, there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for those she loved, even if it meant taking on a bigger load, Maribell always did it without hesitation and never expecting anything in return.
Maribell was my little sister, but in many ways, took on a bigger role than that. If you knew Maribell you’d know she was bigger than life itself, as tiny as she was. If you had a problem, she had a solution. If you had a crisis, she had words of encouragement. If you were overwhelmed, anxious, scared, or simply needed a shoulder to cry on Maribell was there. She was not only there, but she’d walk through it alongside you. Maribell’s life wasn’t easy by any means, she gives the word strong a whole new meaning. She didn’t see herself as anything more than a person, but to those who knew her she was a rock, a mentor, an overcomer, a survivor, a giver, and an even bigger blessing.
Although in the physical she is gone, her legacy lives on through her memories and her kids. When I look at her kids, I see the strength and willpower Maribell had. I see the determination and fight to push forward and not allowing their circumstances to tear them down. I see her smile and her beautiful heart.
Heaven gained an angel, but the world lost a true hero.
