Maria T Casale Hanulik

Hey sis.....this is still just all so surreal. I can't even process that it has been a year. A YEAR. I still miss you so deeply in my very soul that at times it's hard to breathe. I don't even have the words to describe the loss of you. I only know how to say how much I love you....

I am so saddened to learn of Maria's passing. She taught me harp at Pepperdine and was such a good teacher. Too young to leave this world! Such an incredible talent and wonderful human being. She will be greatly missed!!!

I am still coming to terms with the loss of Maria and I extend my sympathies to her surviving siblings and friends from her early days. I have lost two older siblings at young ages and I understand how such a big loss stays with you. Maria was one of the brightest in our RPHS class of 1981, and I have two distinct memories of her. One was in Mr. Bany's algebra class at Rowe Jr. High, where we laughed our way through the uncertainties of multi-variable equations. She wrote comments in my yearbook then that still make me laugh today. The other was the day in the fall of 1980 when she came into class to announce that she was graduating early and heading for Juilliard. I never saw Maria again, but I heard about her great successes over the years and I was happy for her. She had everything in life but more time with everyone she loved and who loved her. My condolences to all who feel her loss.

Hey Ria, still not able to accept that you are really gone. It's so easy to sit here in Portland and think you are still in LA. I haven't figured out how to live in a world that doesn't have you in it. It's just so overwhelming. I will miss you and love you forever. I was so very blessed to have you as my sister. Your music will ring in my heart forever.