Tucked under his mother’s arm, easily comforted by her embrace, was exactly where AJ enjoyed being most. She smelled good, sweet and slightly spicy like an orange warmed by too much sun, and this snuggling position gave him a good listen of her heart. Strong and constant, his mother’s heart beat a smooth rhythm for them both, a long reassuring lullaby by which he could sleep.
Abraham John Mendiola Borja, whom most called AJ, was born to Ramona Borja and Jason Ogo on December 21, 2004. A much-loved child who gave it right back, AJ was a precocious delight to everyone who knew him. Things that glittered and caught the eye were favorites of his whether they were magnetic puzzle toys, superheroes like The Hulk, action scenes from “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, or watching an opalescent pearl being shucked from an oyster during a Facebook pearl party, AJ wanted to experience it all.
Having been ill since the age of eight and determined to be the most incredible warrior, AJ sparkled and shone through it all. The good days and the bad were imbued with the spirit of the fight and when remission came it was a sweet victory. Those days were spent doing what children do best-living.
Chasing after dogs, going on adventures to the beach, dropping a line for fish or a pot for crabs, and lazily surfing the internet sparked joy in AJ. He continued encouraging sweet moments in his life even after the cancer returned and his family worried. He was undaunted because he was their island warrior, protector of hearts and conqueror of ills.
AJ’s wild and precious life was buoyed by passion. He had a passion for life, for knowledge, for pulling in every breath and holding it tight. It was fatum, destiny, faith, spoken by God into the fiber of his being, that continually renewed the fires of AJ’s ardent life.
But with fierce passion comes a quiet and after one last snuggle on January 20, 2019, AJ went to check on the strength of the wi-fi in Heaven. He was just 14 years old. AJ’s life was filled with amazing people who knew just how to bring a little razzle dazzle to each day.
He continues to be loved by mother Ramona Borja; his father Jason Ogo; his siblings John Anthony, Thomas John, and Ramona Mae Ulloa; his grandparents Tony and Donna Pack; and aunt Evangeline Mendiola. Each life is empowered, comforted, and enriched by those who love and support it. For AJ those things were freely given by Tomas M. Calvo, Cecilia Calvo, Vincent M. Calvo, Salomae Calvo, Gerald and Vicky Calvo, Maria C Duenas, Colin Duenas, Pedro A. Duenas Jr., Teresita Borja, Monica Borja, Edith (Larry) Iriarte, Francine (Todd) Eclavea, Jaclynn White, Jay Calamba, Pedro R. Manibusan, Jonathan and Christy Camacho, John Ogo, Enisita Tyquiengco, Michelle Bray and Deano Novaria, and “Aunty Beautiful” Zelda Calvo (Carrie Kudna).
Remembrances for AJ can be made to Love Like Crazy. His ashes will be returned to his mother in an urn that represents the ripples his beautiful soul created in the waves of each life he changed.
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