See our angels for Linda's special

"Over the Rainbow" angel

In her mother's words -
"Linda was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia on August 19, 2000. She became very ill very quickly and passed away just nine weeks later on October 16th at the Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.

Her death was the most difficult blow and the greatest blessing of our lives. It has left us heartbroken, but we realize that she is in the presence of God and that nothing we could have given her can compare to the bliss she is now experiencing. She passed away in the morning and we left Houston that very day to return home to our son, RJ, and to our family. When we got home I noticed that the white mums that Linda had planted earlier that summer were in full bloom. They had never had flowers, so that really surprised me. I pointed it out to her father and brother and we all smiled about it.

The next morning RJ and I were sitting in the den. I was looking at Linda's picture when I noticed a dim colorful light on the wall just behind her picture. The light became progressively brighter until I realized that it contained all the colors of the rainbow. As my son and I tried to understand what was causing it, the light continued to brighten. RJ is very mathematical and logical and attempted to explain it to me as the "prism effect" that was causing a "refraction" of the light. It was just about then that I realized that the magnificent light show was a sign to let us know that Linda is safe and happy in the arms of our Lord! I ran to get my husband saying "Hurry, Hurry, it's Linda!" But by the time he came into the room, it was gone. I asked him to sit on the couch to wait for it to come back. I just knew it would. Within minutes it came back, even brighter and clearer than before. I watched my husband as the heavenly image shone on the wall. His face looked as if he could see God. I will never forget his face.

The next day we celebrated Linda's life and her entrance into paradise with a funeral mass. During the blessing of her body, a downpour began that lasted until after we left the cemetery. On the way home we searched for a rainbow, but found nothing. The sun was going down, it was nearly 6:30 when we got home. About 15 minutes after we arrive the phone rang. It was one of the priests that had served at Linda's mass. He yelled excitedly, "There's a rainbow over Pharr!" My husband and I ran outside. Another sign from God! The rainbow left us with no doubt that Linda is in paradise. Only God can make rainbows and He sent them to us when we most needed them."

In her father's words,
"We feel honored to have had an angel live among us and leave us with a sense of completion of one's life journey here on earth. Linda's life has had a positive impact on our families beyond what we ever could imagine. Our young child's life showed us the faith that we sometimes don't realize is possible for anyone who will just turn to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for salvation and redemption. We have learned so much more from our daughter's relatively short time here on earth. We now have a deeper understanding of what our mission here on earth is and the glory that we can all look forward to when we are reunited in paradise. We need to make each day count and realize that love is the greatest power in the universe. We need to do everything with love in the name of Jesus Christ. Our mortal life here on earth is a precious gift and we need to use that gift to further God's kingdom."