One day, Alma's best friend came to her and told her that she had found papers in her husband's desk showing that he was a communist and that Alma's family was to be picked up and taken away. Alma went to Alberts workplace and told him of the danger. They left Riga that night, never to return.
At first they stayed at their lake house in the Gulf of Riga on the Baltic Sea. When bombing in the area got too intense, they made their way to southern Germany (Bavaria). Alberts worked for the rail road until the end of the war. All foreign nationals were moved to displaced persons camps when WWII ended, where they remained for four years. They were in Camp Kathann in Hersbruck, Germany, a former concentration camp near Nuernberg. First they attempted to immigrate to Australia, but Alma's mother who lived with the family was too old according to Australian immigration laws. Then they sought refuge in the United States. An American soldier, Col. A. T. Callicott, sponsored 600 Latvian families and brought them to Mississippi. They worked on area farms until they could repay the cost of their passage.
They left Senatobia, Mississippi and moved to Memphis, Tennessee where they remained the rest of their lives, never returning to their homeland of Latvia. Alberts and Alma learned English and got jobs at Southern Central Paper Company. Then Alberts worked at Wurzburg Brothers as a warehouse manager. He later went into business with his son, Ivars, and operated Screencraft of Memphis, a screen printing business, until he retired at 80.
Alberts had Parkinson's Disease for many years. He died at the age of 85. He was survived by his wife, Alma, his son, Ivars (Maruta) of Memphis, his son, Albert (Sandy) of San Diego, CA, his brother, Pauls Krastins (Ingrida) of Seattle, Washington, three granddaughters, and one great-grandson.
One day, Alma's best friend came to her and told her that she had found papers in her husband's desk showing that he was a communist and that Alma's family was to be picked up and taken away. Alma went to Alberts workplace and told him of the danger. They left Riga that night, never to return.
At first they stayed at their lake house in the Gulf of Riga on the Baltic Sea. When bombing in the area got too intense, they made their way to southern Germany (Bavaria). Alberts worked for the rail road until the end of the war. All foreign nationals were moved to displaced persons camps when WWII ended, where they remained for four years. They were in Camp Kathann in Hersbruck, Germany, a former concentration camp near Nuernberg. First they attempted to immigrate to Australia, but Alma's mother who lived with the family was too old according to Australian immigration laws. Then they sought refuge in the United States. An American soldier, Col. A. T. Callicott, sponsored 600 Latvian families and brought them to Mississippi. They worked on area farms until they could repay the cost of their passage.
They left Senatobia, Mississippi and moved to Memphis, Tennessee where they remained the rest of their lives, never returning to their homeland of Latvia. Alberts and Alma learned English and got jobs at Southern Central Paper Company. Then Alberts worked at Wurzburg Brothers as a warehouse manager. He later went into business with his son, Ivars, and operated Screencraft of Memphis, a screen printing business, until he retired at 80.
Alberts had Parkinson's Disease for many years. He died at the age of 85. He was survived by his wife, Alma, his son, Ivars (Maruta) of Memphis, his son, Albert (Sandy) of San Diego, CA, his brother, Pauls Krastins (Ingrida) of Seattle, Washington, three granddaughters, and one great-grandson.
Inscription
KRASTINS
ALBERTS N.
MAY 22, 1910
AUG. 7, 1995
MARRIED JUNE 23, 1935
Gravesite Details
There is a section in Bethesda Cemetery where the Latvian immigrants are buried. The city of Senatobia erected a monument honoring the Latvians who came after World War II .
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement