Help Us Continue Marialuz's Loving Care

On the morning of October 28th, 2024, we lost the brightest light and glue to our family; my beloved Grandmother, Marialuz "Marilu" Castro Morada, after her 17-month long battle with Leukemia. In her 82 years, she danced around the world with the Bayanihan dance company of the Philippines, created a family whose admiration and love for her was unwavering, inspired and impacted many through her work and leadership during her time at ASAE. She was extremely proud of the work and meaningful relationships she built through her scholars of the DELP program. I remember she used to tell me with pride and a smile, "They call me MamaLu" which to me was unsurprising, as she was a revered loving maternal figure to many. On behalf of her children and grandchildren, I can say with the utmost certainty, that we were the luckiest and most blessed to be able to have her as the Matriarch of our family. No matter what room she was standing in, she would go out of her way to ensure everyone was always taken care of and was taking care of us all until her last moments. We are so fortunate to have been able to be present with her in those moments and will forever cherish the impact she made on all of our lives and hold tightly to our favorite memories of her. She will live within us every day.

Any funds raised will be used for any service expenses, but the majority will be used for her 22-year-old Grandson Kevin who has Autism and Intellectual Disabilities. Kevin has lived with our Lola for his entire life and during her time here, her biggest concern was always wanting to ensure that Kevin would be taken care of after she was gone. Since he was young, she captained the ship in terms of getting him the necessary diagnosis's, the speech and behavioral therapies and resources he needed, as well as attending many seminars and community groups for parents with kids with Autism. Her love for Kevin was insurmountable and we hope that these funds can serve as a way for her to continue taking care of him in the way she wanted and knew that he deserves.

We are so incredibly grateful for any contributions made and are so thankful that many others got to feel her love like we did every day.

To our family and friends, we will be holding a Memorial Mass on Friday, November 8th at 2:00 pm at the Nativity Catholic Church in Burke, Virginia. Her inurnment will take place on Saturday, November 9th at 12:00 pm at the Fairfax Memorial Park, Fairfax, Virginia.