Mother finds way to help daughter escape violence

My mom, Remedias Duhaylonsod, was the most caring, supportive, loving, generous, hospitable person I’ve ever known. She always gave whatever she could to everyone she knew and met. Mom loved everyone unconditionally no matter how many times my siblings and I may have disappointed her.

I remember when I was a teenager who was crazy about the Osmonds. I always wanted to buy Tiger Beat and all the other teen magazines. Even when finances were tight, Mom found the money so I could do so. Trying to make my life a little brighter is what my mom cared about.

In 1987, my two children, Charles, 5, and Tina, 4, and I were caught in a domestic violence situation, and we ended up in a domestic abuse shelter in California. We were scared and not sure about how to get back to Hawaii. Although my parents and siblings lived from paycheck to paycheck, my mom somehow found money to bring us home. After two months of running, we had three plane tickets for a one-way trip back to Oahu. I will never forget when I saw my mom, who opened her arms and hugged us ever so tenderly, saying, “Welcome home!”

Mom passed away suddenly at the age of 68 in 2006. It took me forever to get over her passing. However, I can still feel her near me even today, helping me somehow or some way. I know she’s in heaven with all the angels and saints, which is what she was in her own little way. — Jenny Duhaylonsod