Remembering Gaby

Eulogy for Gabriela Gonzalez

By: Paulina Gonzalez-Brito

Gabriela Gonzalez, or Gaby as she was known, or Gabbers as my mom called her, was my little sister. She was born on June 23, 1974 at Santa Marta Hospital in East Los Angeles. She was born three months premature, so I was only nine months older than her. I had a lot of fun telling people that.

She was so small when she was born that she fit in the palm of my dad’s hand. He would hold her in the palm of his hand and tell her that she would survive. Willing her to live. Gaby went home from the hospital 2 weeks after she was born.

Even as a newborn nothing could hold Gaby back.

Gaby had a poster above her bed that read, “They said she couldn’t, so she did.” That was how my sister lived her life. She was strong willed and resilient, these traits carried her through many challenges in her life.

When my parents brought her home and she began to grow, my parents noticed something was different about Gaby because she wouldn’t roll over like most babies her age. My mom started calling around asking for help, and the Regional Center stated that she was mentally disabled. My mom and dad were determined that she was not, her only disability was a physical one. Through her thoughtful and poignant writing, to impressive test scores Gaby proved to them that she was not mentally disabled.

They said she couldn’t, so she did.

Gaby was intelligent and she loved to learn. When she was 7-8 years old and couldn’t go to school because she was sick, she would cry because she was going to miss her classes. Abuelito used to call her “Sabe Todo” he would say “Dejame hablar con la sabe todo.”

Gaby was an avid sports fan, and most importantly she was a die hard Dodgers fan. Watching not only every Dodgers game, but watching as many baseball games as she could no matter the team. She was also a UCLA Bruins basketball fan. My dad would call her during the season to find out when the Dodgers played and on what channel. Gaby always new. In 2020 my dad and I watched the Dodgers win the world series at her apartment, it is one of my favorite memories.

She also beat anybody at sports trivia, trust me many of us tried to win at trivia against Gaby and failed.

When we were young we lived in a fourplex and there were lots of other kids our age to play with. She wanted to be running around with all of us kids and again nothing would stop her.

Abuelito, our grandfather, built her a little orange wooden cart so she could run around and play with us. She would get mad at me sometimes and say “Ya me voy a mi cuarto por que estoy MUY enojada” and she would roll away in her little cart to her room. She went everywhere in her little cart and she loved it, taking great pride that her abuellito made it just for her.

They said she couldn’t, so she did.

When I started playing softball, she was my biggest fan. Attending every game and cheering me on. One day the umpire invited her onto the field to call balls and strikes from behind the plate. She even got a trophy for being the #1 fan.

They said she couldn’t, so she did.

Gaby wanted to go everywhere we went. Even to the bar. My dad went to watch boxing fights at the local bar and Gaby would cry because she wanted to go to the bar with my dad, and my mom told her that “nomas van viejos feos a la cantina.” My dad never took her to a bar, but I did take her to go see the viejos feos, well more like jovenes guapos, when she turned 21, and she got really tipsy.

If you know Gaby you know that she could maneuver her wheelchair through any tough spot. As much as some of us tried to help her, we would often run her wheelchair into an unsuspecting wall whenever we tried.

But when she was younger she sometimes had trouble driving her wheelchair straight and she fell off the sidewalk at school. She was supposed to take a test on the spelling of the states and had studied all night, she was on her way to take the test when she fell and sustained a concussion. When my mom went to the school to pick her up, Gaby was determinedly taking her test.

They said she couldn’t, so she did.

Gaby attended Warren High School for most of her high school life, Montebello High School didn’t want to accept her into the school, they didn’t want to be responsible for her education, but Gaby wanted to go to her neighborhood school. She attended a meeting with the director of special education, and advocated for her right to attend Montebello High.

Gaby attended Montebello High School for one year and graduated from Warren High School in 1993.

They said she couldn’t, so she did.

Gaby lived independently since the age of 23. CHOiCESS helped her apply for HUD and was by her side as she moved out to her own apartment where she would live independently until her last day on this earth.

They said she couldn’t, so she did.

She traveled to Las Vegas, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, and New York to see the Statue of Liberty that she so badly wanted to see. In Sacramento, Gaby testified at the state assembly against budget cuts to the Regional Center, an agency that provides services to people with disabilities.

They said she couldn’t, so she did.

That was my sister, fierce, resilient, funny, and beautiful. When you think of Gaby, think of all the things she did, and all she accomplished. Gaby lived a full life because she chose to. May we all take that lesson from her and do the same.

I love you Gaby.