Six decades of continuous production of movies and television shows, along with building up stars, are major highlights of the life of Lily Monteverde, or Mother Lily to most showbiz personalities and artists she helped along the way.
When she passed away on 4 August at the age of 85, celebrities posted their personal tributes on social media, sharing some of their most unforgettable memories with the showbiz matriarch.
For noted screenwriter and film maker Jose Javier Reyes, it was Mother Lily who gave him his first big break.
If not for her, I would not be here. I would not be who I am today. She was the first to take the risk of hiring me as a screenwriter for a movie in 1979. Years later, we were having a casual conversation in her kitchen at her Greenhills residence when, out of the blue, she asked, ‘Joey, gusto mong magdirek ng pelikula? Sige, direk ka na (Do you want to direct a movie? Go ahead, you can direct now). And that brought me to a new level in what turned out to be the road map of my career as a filmmaker,” Reyes says.
For Mother Lily’s first publicist and veteran talent manager Lolit Solis, the Regal producer is the most generous.
“Hindi ko talaga maisip na mawawala si Mother Lily Monteverde. I can say na who I am now ay dahil sa kanya at anuman meron ako ngayon, halos sa kanya nanggaling (I really cannot imagine losing Mother Lily Monteverde. I can say that who I am now is because of her, and almost everything I have now came from her). The most generous person na yata si Mother Lily at talagang parang nanay siya pag alaga ka niya (And she really takes care of you like a mother),” Solis recounts.
She added: “Half of me died when I heard the news. Parang dumilim ang paligid ko (It felt like my world went dark). I will never forget how grateful I am to Mother Lily. She and Manay Ichu Maceda are like two mothers to me, aside from my own. God, please take good care of Mother Lily. We will see her again when the time comes. For now, let her be with Father Remy, Douglas, Ricky and all her chika gangs. She was a good person, sure ako guguluhin mo mga angels sa heaven. Forever loving you, my dearest Mother Lily Monteverde.”
Talent manager Girlie Rodis recalls her last meeting with the Regal producer.
“I will forever mourn your departure. I have learned so much from you and will never forget your kindness and generosity. When I saw you last December after years of being away from our almost daily togetherness, I never thought it would be our last time together. I have no words, Mother. I will just have to remember all our crazy moments together. So many unforgettable times,” Rodis says.
