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'Heart of a lion ... soul of an angel'
By LOGAN D. MABE, Times Staff Writer WESTCHASE -- Javier Baldor drove along the Veterans Expressway, talking with St. Lawrence Catholic Church Monsignor Laurence Higgins. The two had spent the day burying Baldor's little sister, Ana Maria Baldor-Bunn, who had spent the last two of her 30 years in a losing battle with cancer. It had been a day filled with words of love and tears of grief. But it finally came into focus for Baldor when he saw colors streaming across the afternoon sky. "Do you see that?" Baldor asked the priest, pointing to the most radiant rainbow he had ever seen. "Yes, I do," Higgins replied. "It's a beautiful sign," Baldor said. The rainbow, Baldor said, was like his sister's life writ large across the sky. "She was such a kind person and such a compassionate human being," Baldor said. Mrs. Baldor-Bunn died April 19 after a long battle with a rare form of cancer called gastrointestinal stromal tumor. She was diagnosed with the disease in May 2000 while pregnant with her first child, and underwent emergency surgery the day her son William was born. Despite the draining rigors of treatment, Mrs. Baldor-Bunn found the strength to start her own business in West Park Village, not far from her home in Westchase. Mi Bebe, a boutique for babies and infants, opened last fall as one of the first shops in the village town center. After working in the family software business, Mrs. Baldor-Bunn decided to branch out and came up with the concept of Mi Bebe, which features fashions and children's decor. For a November article in North of Tampa, Mrs. Baldor-Bunn said, "It's been a long road, but I've had a wonderfully supporting family. I've been fortunate in that (the cancer) hasn't been able to stop me. I wouldn't have gotten through without my husband and my faith." But Javier Baldor said it was his sister who was the inspiration in the close-knit family. "She believed it is the little things in life that truly make us happy," Javier Baldor said. "It is not money or worldly possession, but rather the little note that you write to make someone feel better at their time of despair. "Perhaps the tenet that Ana Maria exhibited most in her life is that one should seize and enjoy the moment and make the best of what God lays before you. If you have been wanting to do something with your life, do it now and never delay." Since her death, people whose lives Mrs. Baldor-Bunn touched have been leaving cards and flowers at Mi Bebe in memory of her small kindnesses. One friend, Diana Holmes, left a note saying, "Dearest Ana, I have only known you for a short time, but I feel like I have known you forever. I will miss the beautiful person that I finally met in December. Much love to you and your family. You had the heart of a lion and the soul of an angel." "That's the way she is," Javier Baldor said. "She always knows directly or through some sense that someone is in pain. When Monsignor Higgins gave her the host, he delivered the blessing the day before she passed, she put her head down and hugged him and patted him on the back saying, 'It's going to be all right.' She just had that will and spirit and compassion for people. It's something I'll never forget." He said Mi Bebe will continue to be operated by Mrs. Baldor-Bunn's best friend, Michelle Mendez. Mrs. Baldor-Bunn is survived by her husband, Stan Bunn, and son William; parents Carlos and Liana Baldor; and brothers Javier Baldor and Carlos Baldor, Jr.
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From the Times |
