Visiting Violet. My great aunt? or my Great-Aunt?
Over the week-end on Saturday, I paid a very enjoyable visit to my great aunt, Auntie Violet, a remarkable woman of 97 years. Auntie Violet is the younger sister of my maternal grandfather, Arthur Varian.
I went with my boyfriend Scott, who kindly and pleasantly agreed to drive me there. It was a great coincidence to find out recently that my Auntie only lives 8 miles down the road from Scott's apartment in Huntington Beach -so the visit was not only "hyper" convenient, but a MUST.
When I told Scott thanks for taking me, he said "Of course, we're going to be elderly some day too!" Proving just how amenable he was to accompanying me, as we were heading home afterwards, Scott said to me, "That was fun." Apparently he enjoyed the visit with Auntie as much as I did. (What an awesome guy!) (hehe smile)
But back to Aunt Violet. At age 97, she is doing remarkably well. When we showed up to her house, she came outside to greet us and directed Scott how to park his car better! We spent about three hours together - she brought out all of her old photos of the family - including pictures of literally hundreds of extended family members living all over California and the Philippines. I was pretty overwhelmed by all of the relatives...
Scott talking with Arthur before we say good-bye
One of the pleasant surprises was the unexpected visit of Violet's son Arthur, my mom's first cousin. I had not seen him or Violet for 15 years. I told him that my parents would be visiting in September and that I hoped we could have a small reunion then. After Arthur showed up, Auntie pulled out some apple pie, made coffee and served donuts also. I showed her some pictures of my parents, Grandma (Arthur Varian's wife, Maria, who is now living in the Philippines), and of my new baby nephew. I had an extra photo of Jackson which I gave to her, which seemed to make her very happy. We wrote his name and "Helen Varian's grandson" on the back so that she could remember who that new face in the long family line was.
Among other things, I learned that Aunt Violet is the oldest girl of Morris Varian and Ana Flamor Varian. She was their third child and six years younger than my grandfather. She confirmed what everyone often says - that my grandfather was not very talkative - and so apparently, he didn't talk much to his younger siblings. I also learned that Aunt Violet moved to the United States with her husband, a surgeon, Dr. Bringas, in 1952. Her husband passed away only fourteen years later in 1966. The family lived for some time in Gary, Indiana where Dr. Bringas worked for the American Steel Company....
Aunt Violet was quite animated talking about her family and the past! I remember thinking that I wanted to get everything she was saying on video. I did have my video-cam with me, but I ended up deciding not to bring the camera out because I didn't want Violet to hesitate or stop telling us the stories so vividly. I wasn't sure how she would react to the idea of being taped - and I was expecially concerned that she might not stay so candid if I did try to record our conversation... I hope I can visit her again soon to try to talk to her some more - next time for sure, with the camera ON!
I went with my boyfriend Scott, who kindly and pleasantly agreed to drive me there. It was a great coincidence to find out recently that my Auntie only lives 8 miles down the road from Scott's apartment in Huntington Beach -so the visit was not only "hyper" convenient, but a MUST.
When I told Scott thanks for taking me, he said "Of course, we're going to be elderly some day too!" Proving just how amenable he was to accompanying me, as we were heading home afterwards, Scott said to me, "That was fun." Apparently he enjoyed the visit with Auntie as much as I did. (What an awesome guy!) (hehe smile)
But back to Aunt Violet. At age 97, she is doing remarkably well. When we showed up to her house, she came outside to greet us and directed Scott how to park his car better! We spent about three hours together - she brought out all of her old photos of the family - including pictures of literally hundreds of extended family members living all over California and the Philippines. I was pretty overwhelmed by all of the relatives...
Scott talking with Arthur before we say good-bye
One of the pleasant surprises was the unexpected visit of Violet's son Arthur, my mom's first cousin. I had not seen him or Violet for 15 years. I told him that my parents would be visiting in September and that I hoped we could have a small reunion then. After Arthur showed up, Auntie pulled out some apple pie, made coffee and served donuts also. I showed her some pictures of my parents, Grandma (Arthur Varian's wife, Maria, who is now living in the Philippines), and of my new baby nephew. I had an extra photo of Jackson which I gave to her, which seemed to make her very happy. We wrote his name and "Helen Varian's grandson" on the back so that she could remember who that new face in the long family line was.
Among other things, I learned that Aunt Violet is the oldest girl of Morris Varian and Ana Flamor Varian. She was their third child and six years younger than my grandfather. She confirmed what everyone often says - that my grandfather was not very talkative - and so apparently, he didn't talk much to his younger siblings. I also learned that Aunt Violet moved to the United States with her husband, a surgeon, Dr. Bringas, in 1952. Her husband passed away only fourteen years later in 1966. The family lived for some time in Gary, Indiana where Dr. Bringas worked for the American Steel Company....
Aunt Violet was quite animated talking about her family and the past! I remember thinking that I wanted to get everything she was saying on video. I did have my video-cam with me, but I ended up deciding not to bring the camera out because I didn't want Violet to hesitate or stop telling us the stories so vividly. I wasn't sure how she would react to the idea of being taped - and I was expecially concerned that she might not stay so candid if I did try to record our conversation... I hope I can visit her again soon to try to talk to her some more - next time for sure, with the camera ON!
posted by annmerry at 2:16 AM
2 Comments:
look I don't know who you are personally but I think I recognize you from photos. your Auntie, my Grandmother passed away Sunday evening after having been in a coma for about 4 days from complications of pancreatic cancer.
I'm glad to hear your visit with this remarkable women was just as animated and lively as all mine have been. words cannot express the void she left behind.
Hi! my name is Kristen Marie Atilano Sesante Leopoldo but i am known here in cebu, philippines as iste sesante leopoldo, i work for a newspaper as a sportswriter and a photojournalist at the same time..ive been searching for my roots after i got hold of that one of the Varian family tree. i also have that book on the photo u had.. I am the greatgrand daughter of Crispin Atilano the son of Ana Flamor Varian...keep in touch...wanna know more about my roots.email me at iste.sesante@gmail.com thanks
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