Home Is Calling

Many of you know and love my mom, Rose Marie Tajalle Hunt, also known as “Ro-rie,” Rose Marie, Bik Rose, or “Rose-ski’s,” depending on who you are, and I wanted to share an update.

I am writing this now because I do not want to wait until she is gone to say who she is, what she has meant, and how much she is loved. My mom deserves to be celebrated while she is still here to hear it, see it, and feel it. She deserves to know how many lives she has touched.

If you have a memory, story, photo, or kind word to share, I hope you’ll leave it in the comments here so she can read them and so those words can be preserved.

Mom has now been diagnosed with two different forms of stage 3 lung cancer, including both non-small cell and small cell lung cancer. We have also learned that her valley fever is back. After everything she has already been through, she has made the decision not to pursue cancer treatment, and we support her in that.

She is being placed on hospice, which means her doctor believes her time may be limited, likely months rather than years.

Many of you also know this is not the first time Mom has had to fight through something incredibly hard.

20 years ago, she went through nasopharyngeal cancer. Since then, life has been challenging in ways many people may not realize. She lost a great deal of weight very quickly and was never really able to gain it back. Eating has been difficult for her for years, and she has dealt with many ongoing complications.

Then in November 2023, she had an aortic dissection, meaning her aorta tore. At that time, we truly thought we might lose her. When doctors gently rub your shoulder every time they walk by, you get the feeling they are trying to prepare you for the possibility that your loved one may not make it.

Every day since then has felt like a blessing.

She now weighs less than 100 pounds, so everything takes more energy than it used to, and we are facing a much shorter and more certain road. More than anything, I want Mom’s remaining time to be peaceful, meaningful, and filled with love in whatever way she has energy for.

For those who may not know Mom well, she has always been a force to be reckoned with.

She was born and raised on Guam by a single mother. A white girl in a brown world, she was sometimes referred to as the ghost in family photos. She dropped out of school at 16, but she did not let that be the end of her education. While she may not have cared for the methods being used in school, she absolutely loved learning. She went on to earn her diploma through a correspondence course, and she passed that love of learning on to me.

Instead of simply becoming nothing, she made sure she became something.

And she became a lot.

She was a Realtor® for 35 years, and most of her business came from referrals and repeat customers because she treated people well. She was a five-time president of the Guam Board of Realtors, a beauty queen first runner-up, an amazing fisherwoman, and a woman with a backbone, a sense of humor, and a deep sense of integrity. She has been married to the same man for 53+ years, and she has lived a life full of grit, love, work, laughter, and determination.

I am not only losing my mom. I am losing my mom, my best friend, my business partner for many, many years, my strongest supporter, my mentor, and my biggest pain in the ass, all in one. And if you know her, you know that last part is said with love.

Mom wanted me to be sure to say that she is thankful for everything any friend has ever done for her. Truly, every kindness, every visit, every message, every prayer, every shared meal, every ride, every laugh, and every moment of friendship has meant something to her.

She is still on Facebook and may chime in herself if she is feeling up to it. For now, I am helping take over some of the communication and coordination for her so we can lighten the load.

Her energy changes day by day, so if you would like to send her a message, share a memory, stop by, or offer to spend time with her when she feels up to it, please reach out to me and I’ll help coordinate in a way that feels manageable for her.

While Mom cannot eat much, she has expressed a desire to try. She usually does not have much appetite, and sometimes a few bites are all she can manage, but she wants to taste things again. Eating used to bring us so much joy. It was something we shared, celebrated, and loved together.

And that is part of why Guam is calling so strongly right now.

As natives of the island, home is calling. The land is calling. Mom has expressed a wish to go home to Guam, to be back on the island, and to taste the foods that feel like home again. Even if all she can manage is a few bites, those few bites would mean so much.

I do not know yet if she will have the strength for that trip, but if she does, I would love to help make it happen in the most comfortable way possible, even if it is just the two of us sharing that time together. At this point, finances are the biggest thing standing in the way of making that trip possible in the comfort and safety she would need, but I am holding onto the hope that we can find a way.

Either way, she is going home.

Thank you for loving my mom. It means more to us than I can say.