‘We will miss her for everything’

Acting governor Eloy S. Inos, along with his children and hundreds in the community, laid to rest his wife of 40 years at the Chalan Kanoa Cemetery yesterday.

Inos said one of the things he would miss most about his wife—the late Dolores Agulto Inos—is that she would always wait for him every day at home, even during the times when she was very ill.

“She always welcomes me back, after a long day [at work]. I’m going to miss that now. Even during the time she was very ill, she wouldn’t go to sleep or get a rest until she knew I was home already. I’m going to miss that one very much… We will miss her for everything,” Inos told Saipan Tribune in an interview minutes after the burial.

The acting governor said he and his late wife were married on March 5, 1971, and just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary last March.

Their love story blossomed while he was still working at a bank, while she was working at Townhouse.

“I was working for the bank when I first met her,” Inos said, reminiscing their younger years.

The Inos couple’s five daughters—Dora Anne, Elaine Michelle, Eloise Kay, Christine Mae, and Fleuretta Jean—along with other family members and relatives were among those who led the coffin from the Mount Carmel Cathedral where an 11am Mass of Christian Burial was held, to the Chalan Kanoa Cemetery.

Hundreds of community members, including former and current government officials, paid their last respects to Mrs. Inos.

The acting governor and the family thanked the community for their presence.

Mrs. Inos, fondly known as “Ling,” passed away on Aug. 6 at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in the Philippines. She was 63.

The acting governor also spoke of his late wife’s enduring support for him not only as a husband but also as an elected official.

“I knew she wanted to help, to be at my side at all times, but her physical condition just didn’t allow her to do that… I know she would have liked to help out and participate, and just be around with me whenever I serve the people, the community, but she couldn’t do that at all,” Inos said during the interview.

He has mixed emotions about his wife’s passing—on one end, his wife’s suffering and pain had ended but on one end, he’s sad that she’s gone.

“She’s been battling this illness for many, many years. She suffered major stroke in December 2008. From that point on, it was pretty much a struggle. She’s bedridden for a number of years. She was on dialysis for about 12 years. It’s kidney failure, basically. She wasn’t diabetic,” Inos said.

Inos has been the acting governor since Friday, while Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and the first lady are attending a renewable energy summit in Fair Banks, Alaska. The governor is expected to be back on Saipan today.

Inos said when he was in the Philippines for his wife’s recent treatment, the governor was always checking on his family back home.

“I’m extremely grateful for that,” he said.

Fitial ordered all U.S. and CNMI flags to fly at half-staff until after Mrs. Inos’ funeral, and announced on Aug. 7 a state of mourning for Mrs. Inos’ passing.

The governor earlier described Mrs. Inos “a loving wife of 40 years, a gentle and caring mother to her six children and a beloved grandmother to her seven grandchildren. She will be missed tremendously.”