Around 9:20 on the morning of August, our daughter, Susana Maria Quiros Jacomini, her husband, Thomas Paul Jacomini II, and our two grandchildren, Thomas Paul Jacomini III, (Tom-Tom) and Victoria Virginia Jacomini (Vivi) were all killed in a Cessna 182 near Breckenridge, Colo.  Thomas, an excellent pilot, was piloting the aircraft at the time. 

They took off from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and headed south.  The sky was partly cloudy, but presented no problem, so Tommy did not file a flight plan.  As they approach the mountain pass near Breckenridge, the weather must have rapidly closed in.  No one knows exactly what happened, but we assume that Tommy got into icing, tried to turn around, and while still in the clouds, hit the backside of the mountain at a 50-degree angle.  The aircraft was totaled and burned.  We are positive that what happened they never saw and was instant. It took two days to find the wreckage. The search was massive and we are very grateful for the effort that went into that effort. 

May you never even be able to imagine the sorrow and loss we feel.  When children lose their parents, the word is orphaned, when people lose their spouse, the word is widowed.  There is no word that I know of in the English language to describe losing ones child and grandchild. Perhaps it’s just as well, for it is truly indescribable. 

In attending funerals, I have always heard the phrase, “They are in a better place” and always blew it off, but with what happened for us after, has led me to believe that to be true. 

1. An elderly friend of ours (without knowing beforehand what had happened) had a dream about two days after that she saw the four of them climbing a stairway to Heaven, happy and laughing.  Halfway up, Vivi, turned around, smiled at the lady, and continued up.  The lady later identified Vivi, from the obituary.
2. Again, a few days after, our two-year old granddaughter, Kati, who had been told nothing, suddenly stopped playing, looked up to Heaven and started waving to her cousin, Vivi.
3. A few weeks after the accident, Mary and I released Balloons to Heaven to celebrate what would have been Vivi’s sixth birthday.  The balloons, on their way up and on their own, formed a V until they were out of sight.

While these incidents have helped us a lot to know that they are well and happy, perhaps what has helped the most is the song.  Again, about two days after, a man named Charles Stewart,  showed up at Thomas Jacomini Sr’s house with a song that he had written the words to as well as composed the music. He did not know Tommy & Susie personally, but felt compelled to write the song.  He did it in one night.  His nine-year old daughter supplied the giggles as well as the female voice background.   

When we got the song, I asked Rey Fuentes, who had videoed the memorial mass for our children held in Laredo on the 25^th of August, to somehow incorporate the song. What Rey did with the song, the words Charles used, all have to be part of a “God thing”. We hope it gives you a sense of our loved ones.  The video also has some voiceovers taken from the eulogy’s.  We are eternally grateful for that song as it gave us hope that “we will see them again”.

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