Bishop Ricardo Ramirez’s grandmother lived a long and full life. But it was the way Francisca Espitia approached her final years that may have impressed her grandson the most.
Ramirez, 75, recently visited StoryCorps to remember his grandmother, whom he called Panchita, in a family story that begins in 1981. That’s when he was elevated to bishop in the church. The occasion called for a reception — so Ramirez called his grandmother.
“She was one of these women who lived out in the ranches, who would grab a rattlesnake by the tail and snap its head off,” he says. “She was strong. And she raised this big family.”
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