Memorial Program

Daisy Victoria Pavia passed from this life to her final rest on December 7, 2025. She had turned 34 just 2 days before on December 5.

Daisy is survived by her parents, Ladislao and Francisca, her siblings, Levi, Leslie, and Erik, her niece and nephew Victoria and Yahir, her kid cousins, Bruno and Maya, and her dog Onyx. She is also survived by too many cherished aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends to name.

Daisy was born in El Paso, Texas on December 5, 1991. She was named after her mother's favorite flower and in honor of Dale Victoria Pastrana, a cherished guardian and friend.

She grew up in Canutillo. An eagle for life, she attended Bill Childress Elementary, Canutillo Middle School, and Canutillo High School, where she was Class of 2010's Class President.

Daisy went to the University of Texas at Austin where she studied anthropology and interned at the state capitol. While a student, Daisy suffered a health crisis. Doctors said she wouldn't survive, and if she did, she wouldn't be able to walk again. But Daisy was strong. She survived, she recovered, and in 2015, Daisy walked across the stage to get her degree from UT.

There are many things to admire about Daisy, but one of them was her ability to live with positivity and love, despite the immense pain she suffered. Over the last 10 years, Daisy fought a difficult battle with chronic illness. But if you met her, you might not realize the struggle she was facing. She was more interested in making you feel good about yourself than she was about making you feel bad for her.

Daisy ultimately passed away from her health complications, but her illnesses never defeated her.

She was a light and a source of warmth and she treated every day like a celebration.

The people who loved her will always remember her for her strength, her optimism, her energy, her kindness, and her smile. We will miss her, but may we carry the best parts of Daisy forward in our memories, in our hearts, and in our actions; and may she finally rest in peace.

It is one thing when a person that is advanced in years passes away; it is something different when one so young and full of promise goes on before us. Daisy Victoria Pavia did just that. There have been many kind words expressed about her. Many persons loved her infectious smile, her wry humor, and her unbounded intellect.

I had the joy of knowing her in her younger years. Middle school and high school. Mostly in church. She would attend my Sunday School class and on occasion my Sunday night class. There we would contemplate many issues about life, about God, about whatever concerns she might have had. That class was a place that was open to any question, any topic, because I truly believe that God has answers to the questions that beset us.

Suffering was definitely one of the topics that we dealt with. To one extent or another, we all suffer, whether in the flesh or in the spirit it is our lot in life. It is how we experience that pain that makes the difference.

Pavia Family, I want you to know that my heart and my wife's heart goes out to you today. There are other persons that have been praying for you since we got the news. We share in your pain, but at the same time we want to offer comfort. The comfort that we offer is found in God's word, and it comes from God's heart.

I want to share this word with all that are here because we have all been touched by this. Sunday morning Carlos Carrasco walked up to me. Just his body posture spoke volumes even before one word was uttered. He told me of the passing of Daisy, I could hear the pain in his voice, and I could sense the brokenness is his spirit. He is a man of prayer, and no sooner had he heard the news than he began to pray. At the end of it all, it is in God's hands, and it is from Him that we draw our comfort.

We draw comfort and understanding from a well that is thousands of years old. Many followers of God have written about it, have experience it, and have understood that God's hand and comfort and strength was also in the midst of our tears and sorrows.

I don't remember where I heard this, but I am not smart enough to have come up with this, but there is one thing we know, from the moment that we are born we are one day closer to meeting our maker. The further we move away from our birth the closer we are to our death. Augustine, in Book 8 of City of God wrote, "For what is our life but a prolonged death?" Someone paraphrased it as, "I don't know if this is living death or a life that is dying."

Take your pick. We are all destined to have our day with death and every day we draw closer and closer to it. Someone once said that the road of our life is easier marked by tombstones than with accomplishments.

Robert Alton Harris was right. Upon entering the gas chamber at San Quentin, he quoted a line from the 1991 film Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure: "Whether we're kings or street sweepers, sooner or later we all dance with the Reaper."

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why? You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and if they do not do it, it is sin for them." — James 4:13-17

This text warns us against boasting about tomorrow or making plans for the future without a proper sense of life's uncertainty and our absolute dependence on God.

All plans are flawed if they are formulated with this attitude. Our life is like vapor; it is fragile and uncertain. "If God wills it" is the correct attitude, for only He gives us life and makes us prosper; He can undo the best plans made by men.

With all this, the writer gives us the correct perspective on life. It will help us contemplate today as we feel the pain of losing Daisy. It reminds us of three things: first, life is short; second, death is certain; and third, God is in control.

First: Life is Short

The grave awaits us; to live properly, we must first realize that life is short, like a wisp of vapor. One morning, while walking, John Quincy Adams, former president of the United States, ran into a friend who asked him, "How are you this morning, John Quincy Adams?" The former president replied, "John Quincy Adams is very well, but this house in which he lives is falling apart." He was referring to his body.

The same is true for all of us: time takes its toll on the human body, and life soon fades away. Like all other human beings, we can die at any moment. There is a simple statement in the Bible concerning physical life; the scriptures say in Isaiah 40, verses six and eight: "All flesh is grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field; the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever."

"Why should the spirit of mortal be proud?" was a poem written by William Knox. This is what the last line says:

This is what Isaiah was saying. We must realize that death has its place in the overall scheme of things. It is a sentence pronounced upon all of humanity after the creation of man and woman. God warned them against rebellion, telling them that at that moment they sinned they would surely die (Genesis 2:17). When human rebellion passed from the realm of possibility to reality, death entered human history, and God declared, "For dust you are, and to dust you will return." The sin of man, therefore, is the source of death, and since then, we have all sinned and will die.

Every path we take leads to the grave; death is a constant reminder that we are human, not gods. Whether a person lives or dies in the same community where they were born or walks on the moon, there is no difference in the end. The grave awaits us all. Medicine may prolong life, doctors may perform miraculous surgeries, but in the end, we will die. The doctor always fails in the end; every patient will eventually die. Life is like vapor.

Second: Death is Certain

To live correctly, we must realize that death is certain, life appears for a time and soon vanishes. What a great difference it would make if we could truly grasp the truth that life is like a vapor and that tomorrow is not guaranteed. The scriptures warn in Proverbs 27:1, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring."

We don't know what tomorrow will bring. Isn't it amazing that God has given us memory to look back, but hasn't given us the ability to see into the future? We can't see even a year into the future, not a month, not a day, not even an hour.

And this is both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because if we knew the future of our lives, we would be filled with boredom or paralyzed by terror. If we knew the future, life would be like an old movie, one of those that plays late at night and that we've already seen countless times, full of boredom. We would know everything that was going to happen in advance, and it would be difficult to stay awake to watch it. On the other hand, if we knew the future, perhaps we would be so terrified that we wouldn't enjoy the present.

But God has not given us such a vision; we do not know what tomorrow holds. We simply know that life is fleeting and that we must be prepared every day.

We must live life to the fullest, to the best of our ability. We are finite, we are limited, but we can live our life in the unlimited power of He who created life. Living in Christ is the only way to attain fulfillment, and in this hour we can have the comfort that we need.

Our days are in His hands.

Third: God is Sovereign

To live correctly, we must realize that God is sovereign. Instead of presuming or boasting about tomorrow, we should say, "If God wills, we will live and prosper."

Accepting God's sovereignty affects the way we live and die; not everyone dies in the same way. A year before his death, Lord Byron, who had given himself over to the pursuit of pleasure, wrote:

There is intense darkness in his outlook. Pleasure and the pursuit of it had not given him the hope he desired, or the comfort he was looking for as he contemplated his mortality.

I can only contrast this with Adam Clarke, a contemporary of Lord Byron, a writer of biblical commentaries used throughout the world. At the age of 84, he said:

"I have passed through the spring of my life, I have endured the heat of summer, I have gathered the harvest of autumn, and now I endure the harsh winter, but in the distance, I see the arrival of eternal spring. Hallelujah!"

What is the difference? Christ. Christ, only Christ. The great British preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote of Christ:

Halford Luccock said he would never forget the story of a chaplain during World War I. A mass burial of 11 men from the same company. A rainy day added to the sorrow. The company was gathered around the grave. He said it was the blackest day that had ever fallen from the sky. He read the sermon; it was correct, but lifeless. Just before they left, a red-haired cook from Arkansas began to sing a hymn.

And then Luccock said, "That's simply a living reference to a theological dogma. If Christ had not risen, our hope would be meaningless. But Christ did rise so trust in him today and you will know how to live and you will be ready to die."

As we remember the beautiful life of Daisy Victoria Pavia, we also need to remember that our deepest comfort can only come from God. The pain we feel is real, it is deep, and it leaves questions ringing in our minds. The memories of Daisy will bring comfort as we share them with each other, the void left by her departure can only be filled by Christ who is the giver of hope eternal.

Prayer

Father, bring comfort to us all as we feel the depth of the void left by Daisy's passing. In the midst of our sorrow we celebrate her life, her memories, and her friendship and familial love. We ask that your Spirit comfort the family, that you would help them navigate through this and find hope and strength in your presence.

Allow us to understand the "whys" in our minds. Guide us to your paths of eternal comfort.

In Jesus' Name – AMEN.

Daisy hated my lectures, so in her honor, I wanted to give a little lecture.

Daisy was my first friend because she didn't really have a choice. Leslie was older than me and wasn't going to listen to me, but Daisy was sweet and always down to ride, so she'd entertain my interests or Leslie's interests if that's what it took to hang out. She was as stubborn as you can guess. They weren't her first words, but the phrase "I know" was probably her favorite. She was loving, and caring, and just wanted everyone to get along.

The funeral director asked if there was anything Daisy liked to collect so we could put it on display. So I thank you all for attending, because above all else, Daisy loved to collect people.

If Daisy met you, she cared about you, so I want to make 2 requests to everyone here, in the hopes that they will help us take care of Daisy's favorite collection. One request is based on the tragedy of Daisy's passing, and the other is based on the joy of Daisy's life.

Daisy was an eternal optimist, and it was her biggest blessing and curse. Daisy always lived her life as if everything could and would be better. She thought the good things were inevitable, but the bad things could never happen to her.

It's a cautionary tale about the illusion of control; what the Bible calls pride. Not self-confidence or boasting, but the belief that you are the sole author of your life. The belief that you know best and if you're careful or clever enough, reality will follow your plans.

Even if you do everything right, you can be struck by illness, an accident, an insurmountable challenge, or an irreconcilable loss. We are small, born into an existence that cares nothing for our plans, with powers greater than our own.

First Request

Let go of the belief that you have control. Cherish your blessings because you are not entitled to them. Accept that what can happen to others can happen to you. But also understand that you aren't alone if you make a mistake. Nobody is entitled to cast the first stone.

This isn't a request to let go. While you cannot determine all your life events, you can narrate and choose what to focus on. People have said Daisy's life was cut short. But rather than grieve the life I didn't get with Daisy, I will aim to cherish the life I did.

Second Request

My second request is around the blessing of Daisy's life, as Daisy was a blessing to everyone in this room. It has been incredible to hear friends and family from all phases of Daisy's life reach out with very similar messages. Daisy was a light. She was bright, energetic, and warm. She was fun and mischievous. She was clever and witty and sly. She believed in you and made you feel like you were capable of everything you wanted to be. Daisy was strong and despite her life's challenges, every day was a celebration.

We all felt the presence of Daisy, and now we feel its absence.

At every funeral, we talk about keeping people alive in our memories. While memories can be shared, they can't be felt. So if we want to feel Daisy's presence that we already miss so much, I instead ask each of you to keep her alive, not just in your memories, but also in your actions. Take a moment, right now, and think of a personality trait of hers you liked. Think of the actions you admired. Pick one, and think of a specific way in which you can carry her spirit forward by acting in her honor. In that way, her bigger than life personality can remain bigger than life.

For my part, I want to carry forward Daisy's unconditional kindness. Daisy was incredible at finding a reason to help people, but even better, she often helped people for no reason at all. It didn't matter who you were, or whether there was anything you could offer her in exchange. Daisy would say nice things about a stranger's outfit. She would offer meals to the hungry. She's now had her hair shaven twice so that a child with cancer could have it instead. Daisy was constantly kind. I will try to carry that part of her every day of my life, until the day I die and meet her again to give each other shit and laugh about our shared journey.

Third Request

There's a third thing I ask of you, and this one is a little more selfish. My mom loves her three children equally, but she loved Daisy more equally than the others. My mom lost her 408 month old baby and has a massive gap in her life she is going to need help filling. Please, share with her your love, your memories, and help her find her renewed purpose. It'll help me too, because I don't want the pressure of having babies.

Thank you for coming, thank you for all the support. And remember, love grows the more you give it away. Care for yourselves, love each other, and thank you for being part of Daisy's life.