Eulogy for Arlette Micone – August 18, 2017
by Vincent Micone, III
MOM WAS STYLISH. THERE WAS NOT A HENNESSY’S IN BUTTE, MISSOULA, OR HELENA WHERE SHE WAS NOT ON A FIRST NAME BASIS WITH THE CLERKS IN THE WOMEN’S SECTION. SHE KNEW WHEN THE NEW FASHIONS WERE COMING IN AND, EVEN BETTER, SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHEN THEY WOULD BE MARKED DOWN! SHE LOVED SHOPPING AND A GOOD SALE. IN FACT, I THINK THE ONLY HOBBY SHE LIKED MORE THAN SHOPPING WAS CLEANING AND MAKING US KIDS CLEAN!
AS WE COME TOGETHER TODAY TO REMEMBER ARLETTE, LET ME BEGIN BY THANKING ALL OF YOU FOR JOINING THIS CELEBRATION OF HER LIFE. CLAUDINE, EVELINE, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR WARM THOUGHTS AND CONDOLENCES. WE PARTICULARLY THANK THOSE WHO HAVE TRAVELLED TO BUTTE TO BE HERE TODAY, ESPECIALLY UNCLE MIKE AND AUNT PHYLLIS.
ARLETTE CREUSSON MICONE WAS BORN IN A SMALL VILLAGE IN NORMANDY, FRANCE TO EMILE AND JULIA CREUSSON IN OCTOBER OF 1928.
HER FATHER WORKED UP TO THREE JOBS ALL THE TIME AND GREW A VEGETABLE GARDEN TO FEED THE CREUSSON FAMILY.
MOM SAID HER FATHER REQUIRED GOOD MANNERS AND ADULT CONVERSATION AT THE DINNER TABLE. SHE SAID HER MOTHER WAS TOUGH AND DEMANDED GOOD BEHAVIOR AT ALL TIMES AND THAT HER KIDS RESPECT THEMSELVES AND EACH OTHER.
SHE SAID GRANDMERE KISSED HER CHILDREN EVERY NIGHT BEFORE BED…A TRADITION THAT CARRIED ON IN THE MICONE HOUSEHOLD OUR ENTIRE LIVES.
THEY WERE POOR, BUT THEY HAD A GOOD LIFE IN DOMJEAN.
HOWEVER, ARLETTE DID NOT ENJOY THE TYPE OF CHILDHOOD THAT WE HAD HERE IN BUTTE. WHEN SHE YOUNG, NAZI AND TOTALITARIAN AGGRESSION BEGAN IN EUROPE. WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 11, NAZI OCCUPATION REACHED HER VILLAGE. LIFE CHANGED.
WHEN THOM AND I BROUGHT MY MOTHER AND HER SISTER, SOLANGE, TO VISIT THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM DURING A VISIT TO DC, THEY WERE VISIBLY SHAKEN AND SHARED WITH US MANY MEMORIES FROM THAT TIME OF THEIR LIVES. THAT PERIOD FRAMED OUR MOTHER – AND THE ENTIRE MICONE AND CREUSSON FAMILIES.
I WANT TO SHARE ONE OF THOSE MEMORIES TODAY AS IT TELLS THE STORY OF OUR FAMILY AND – IN THESE TIMES – WE HAVE A MORAL OBLIGATION TO REMEMBER AND RETELL THESE STORIES.
MOM AND SOLANGE RECOUNTED MUCH ABOUT THE ABUSE OF THE NAZI REGIME – SHE RECALLED THE DAY HER JEWISH NEIGHBORS WERE MARCHED OUT OF DOMJEAN BY THE NAZI SS. THEY RECALLED HOW SHE AND SOLANGE JUMPED FROM THE SECOND STORY OF A BUILDING TO AVOID BEING RAPED BY A GERMAN SOLDIER. THEY TOLD US THAT GRANDPERE AND MY UNCLES WERE IN THE FRENCH UNDERGROUND, PASSING INFORMATION TO THE FREE FRENCH ARMY IN GREAT BRITIAN ABOUT THE OCCUPATION.
DURING THE WAR, FOOD WAS SCARCE FOR THE LOCALS. EVERYBODY IN THE FAMILY WORKED TO SCRAPE UP THE BARE NECESSITIES TO SURVIVE. EVEN GRANDPERE’S GARDEN BECAME PROPERTY OF THE NAZIS, WITH LITTLE LEFT FOR THE FAMILY.
ONE GERMAN SOLDIER BEFRIENDED THE CREUSSONS. HE WAS AN ARTIST FORM AUSTRIA AND CONSCRIPTED TO SERVICE IN THE GERMAN ARMY. THIS SOLDIER SAW THE SCRAPS OF FOOD ON WHICH THE FAMILY WAS SURVIVING. HE SPIRITED FOOD FROM THE GERMAN BARRACKS AND BROUGHT THEM TO THE CREUSSON FAMILY. AFTER THE WAR, THIS AUSTRIAN SOLDIER BECAME A POW AND WAS ASSIGNED TO WORK FOR MY FATHER. DAD WAS A SERGEANT IN THE U.S. ARMY ASSISTING WITH THE IMMEDIATE REBUILDING OF THIS AREA IN FRANCE.
ONE DAY, MY FATHER SAW THIS ATTRACTIVE YOUNG FRENCH WOMAN WITH LONG, JET-BACK HAIR AND DEEP BROWN EYES BRINGING FOOD TO THIS AUSTRIAN POW. MOM AND TANTE SOLANGE WERE BRINGING FRESH FRUIT AND PASTRIES TO THANK THIS AUSTRIAN SOLDIER FOR WHAT HE DID FOR THEM DURING THE WAR.
AND THAT’S HOW ARLETTE AND VINCE FIRST MET.
THIS STORY BEARS GREAT MEANING, AS IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF GOD’S LOVE AND COMPASSION IN THE MOST DIRE AND HORRIBLE OF TIMES. IT SPEAKS OF HOW HONOR AND FORGIVESS REFLECT EACH OTHER.
ALZHEIMERS DISEASE TAKES SO MUCH. WHAT IS LEFT IS A SHADOW OF WHAT WAS – THE ESSENSE REMAINS, BUT THE IMAGE BECOMES A FADED PICTURE, WHICH IS WHY WE MUST REMEMBER FOR THEM.
THIS IS WHAT I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER: MOM MADE SURE WE KIDS ALWAYS HAD EVERYTHING WE NEEDED. LIKE HER FATHER, SHE FILLED HER GARDEN WITH BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS EVERY SPRING. LIKE HER MOTHER, WE EACH GOT A KISS ON THE CHEEK AND AN “I LOVE YOU” EVERY NIGHT BEFORE BED.
I AM CERTAIN SHE IS IN HEAVEN NOW – GABBING WITH SOLANGE AND CAROLINE ON AUNT CARE’S PURPLE SECTIONAL. MOM, OF COURSE, IS TRANSLATTING BACK-AND-FORTH. DAD IS THERE WITH GRANDMA, GRANDPA, GRANDMERE, GRANDPERE THE REST OF THE FAMILY, GETTING READY FOR A BIG FAMILY DINNER.
THANK YOU, MOM, FOR THE 88 YEARS OF LOVE YOU PROVIDED AND FOR THE SACRIFICES YOU MADE.
BLESS YOU AND REST PEACEFULLY NOW AS YOUR JOURNEY CONTINUES IN GOD’S CARE.
by Vincent Micone, III
MOM WAS STYLISH. THERE WAS NOT A HENNESSY’S IN BUTTE, MISSOULA, OR HELENA WHERE SHE WAS NOT ON A FIRST NAME BASIS WITH THE CLERKS IN THE WOMEN’S SECTION. SHE KNEW WHEN THE NEW FASHIONS WERE COMING IN AND, EVEN BETTER, SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHEN THEY WOULD BE MARKED DOWN! SHE LOVED SHOPPING AND A GOOD SALE. IN FACT, I THINK THE ONLY HOBBY SHE LIKED MORE THAN SHOPPING WAS CLEANING AND MAKING US KIDS CLEAN!
AS WE COME TOGETHER TODAY TO REMEMBER ARLETTE, LET ME BEGIN BY THANKING ALL OF YOU FOR JOINING THIS CELEBRATION OF HER LIFE. CLAUDINE, EVELINE, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR WARM THOUGHTS AND CONDOLENCES. WE PARTICULARLY THANK THOSE WHO HAVE TRAVELLED TO BUTTE TO BE HERE TODAY, ESPECIALLY UNCLE MIKE AND AUNT PHYLLIS.
ARLETTE CREUSSON MICONE WAS BORN IN A SMALL VILLAGE IN NORMANDY, FRANCE TO EMILE AND JULIA CREUSSON IN OCTOBER OF 1928.
HER FATHER WORKED UP TO THREE JOBS ALL THE TIME AND GREW A VEGETABLE GARDEN TO FEED THE CREUSSON FAMILY.
MOM SAID HER FATHER REQUIRED GOOD MANNERS AND ADULT CONVERSATION AT THE DINNER TABLE. SHE SAID HER MOTHER WAS TOUGH AND DEMANDED GOOD BEHAVIOR AT ALL TIMES AND THAT HER KIDS RESPECT THEMSELVES AND EACH OTHER.
SHE SAID GRANDMERE KISSED HER CHILDREN EVERY NIGHT BEFORE BED…A TRADITION THAT CARRIED ON IN THE MICONE HOUSEHOLD OUR ENTIRE LIVES.
THEY WERE POOR, BUT THEY HAD A GOOD LIFE IN DOMJEAN.
HOWEVER, ARLETTE DID NOT ENJOY THE TYPE OF CHILDHOOD THAT WE HAD HERE IN BUTTE. WHEN SHE YOUNG, NAZI AND TOTALITARIAN AGGRESSION BEGAN IN EUROPE. WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 11, NAZI OCCUPATION REACHED HER VILLAGE. LIFE CHANGED.
WHEN THOM AND I BROUGHT MY MOTHER AND HER SISTER, SOLANGE, TO VISIT THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM DURING A VISIT TO DC, THEY WERE VISIBLY SHAKEN AND SHARED WITH US MANY MEMORIES FROM THAT TIME OF THEIR LIVES. THAT PERIOD FRAMED OUR MOTHER – AND THE ENTIRE MICONE AND CREUSSON FAMILIES.
I WANT TO SHARE ONE OF THOSE MEMORIES TODAY AS IT TELLS THE STORY OF OUR FAMILY AND – IN THESE TIMES – WE HAVE A MORAL OBLIGATION TO REMEMBER AND RETELL THESE STORIES.
MOM AND SOLANGE RECOUNTED MUCH ABOUT THE ABUSE OF THE NAZI REGIME – SHE RECALLED THE DAY HER JEWISH NEIGHBORS WERE MARCHED OUT OF DOMJEAN BY THE NAZI SS. THEY RECALLED HOW SHE AND SOLANGE JUMPED FROM THE SECOND STORY OF A BUILDING TO AVOID BEING RAPED BY A GERMAN SOLDIER. THEY TOLD US THAT GRANDPERE AND MY UNCLES WERE IN THE FRENCH UNDERGROUND, PASSING INFORMATION TO THE FREE FRENCH ARMY IN GREAT BRITIAN ABOUT THE OCCUPATION.
DURING THE WAR, FOOD WAS SCARCE FOR THE LOCALS. EVERYBODY IN THE FAMILY WORKED TO SCRAPE UP THE BARE NECESSITIES TO SURVIVE. EVEN GRANDPERE’S GARDEN BECAME PROPERTY OF THE NAZIS, WITH LITTLE LEFT FOR THE FAMILY.
ONE GERMAN SOLDIER BEFRIENDED THE CREUSSONS. HE WAS AN ARTIST FORM AUSTRIA AND CONSCRIPTED TO SERVICE IN THE GERMAN ARMY. THIS SOLDIER SAW THE SCRAPS OF FOOD ON WHICH THE FAMILY WAS SURVIVING. HE SPIRITED FOOD FROM THE GERMAN BARRACKS AND BROUGHT THEM TO THE CREUSSON FAMILY. AFTER THE WAR, THIS AUSTRIAN SOLDIER BECAME A POW AND WAS ASSIGNED TO WORK FOR MY FATHER. DAD WAS A SERGEANT IN THE U.S. ARMY ASSISTING WITH THE IMMEDIATE REBUILDING OF THIS AREA IN FRANCE.
ONE DAY, MY FATHER SAW THIS ATTRACTIVE YOUNG FRENCH WOMAN WITH LONG, JET-BACK HAIR AND DEEP BROWN EYES BRINGING FOOD TO THIS AUSTRIAN POW. MOM AND TANTE SOLANGE WERE BRINGING FRESH FRUIT AND PASTRIES TO THANK THIS AUSTRIAN SOLDIER FOR WHAT HE DID FOR THEM DURING THE WAR.
AND THAT’S HOW ARLETTE AND VINCE FIRST MET.
THIS STORY BEARS GREAT MEANING, AS IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF GOD’S LOVE AND COMPASSION IN THE MOST DIRE AND HORRIBLE OF TIMES. IT SPEAKS OF HOW HONOR AND FORGIVESS REFLECT EACH OTHER.
ALZHEIMERS DISEASE TAKES SO MUCH. WHAT IS LEFT IS A SHADOW OF WHAT WAS – THE ESSENSE REMAINS, BUT THE IMAGE BECOMES A FADED PICTURE, WHICH IS WHY WE MUST REMEMBER FOR THEM.
THIS IS WHAT I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER: MOM MADE SURE WE KIDS ALWAYS HAD EVERYTHING WE NEEDED. LIKE HER FATHER, SHE FILLED HER GARDEN WITH BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS EVERY SPRING. LIKE HER MOTHER, WE EACH GOT A KISS ON THE CHEEK AND AN “I LOVE YOU” EVERY NIGHT BEFORE BED.
I AM CERTAIN SHE IS IN HEAVEN NOW – GABBING WITH SOLANGE AND CAROLINE ON AUNT CARE’S PURPLE SECTIONAL. MOM, OF COURSE, IS TRANSLATTING BACK-AND-FORTH. DAD IS THERE WITH GRANDMA, GRANDPA, GRANDMERE, GRANDPERE THE REST OF THE FAMILY, GETTING READY FOR A BIG FAMILY DINNER.
THANK YOU, MOM, FOR THE 88 YEARS OF LOVE YOU PROVIDED AND FOR THE SACRIFICES YOU MADE.
BLESS YOU AND REST PEACEFULLY NOW AS YOUR JOURNEY CONTINUES IN GOD’S CARE.
Eulogy for Arlette Micone – August 18, 2017
by Vincent Micone, III
MOM WAS STYLISH. THERE WAS NOT A HENNESSY’S IN BUTTE, MISSOULA, OR HELENA WHERE SHE WAS NOT ON A FIRST NAME BASIS WITH THE CLERKS IN THE WOMEN’S SECTION. SHE KNEW WHEN THE NEW FASHIONS WERE COMING IN AND, EVEN BETTER, SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHEN THEY WOULD BE MARKED DOWN! SHE LOVED SHOPPING AND A GOOD SALE. IN FACT, I THINK THE ONLY HOBBY SHE LIKED MORE THAN SHOPPING WAS CLEANING AND MAKING US KIDS CLEAN!
AS WE COME TOGETHER TODAY TO REMEMBER ARLETTE, LET ME BEGIN BY THANKING ALL OF YOU FOR JOINING THIS CELEBRATION OF HER LIFE. CLAUDINE, EVELINE, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR WARM THOUGHTS AND CONDOLENCES. WE PARTICULARLY THANK THOSE WHO HAVE TRAVELLED TO BUTTE TO BE HERE TODAY, ESPECIALLY UNCLE MIKE AND AUNT PHYLLIS.
ARLETTE CREUSSON MICONE WAS BORN IN A SMALL VILLAGE IN NORMANDY, FRANCE TO EMILE AND JULIA CREUSSON IN OCTOBER OF 1928.
HER FATHER WORKED UP TO THREE JOBS ALL THE TIME AND GREW A VEGETABLE GARDEN TO FEED THE CREUSSON FAMILY.
MOM SAID HER FATHER REQUIRED GOOD MANNERS AND ADULT CONVERSATION AT THE DINNER TABLE. SHE SAID HER MOTHER WAS TOUGH AND DEMANDED GOOD BEHAVIOR AT ALL TIMES AND THAT HER KIDS RESPECT THEMSELVES AND EACH OTHER.
SHE SAID GRANDMERE KISSED HER CHILDREN EVERY NIGHT BEFORE BED…A TRADITION THAT CARRIED ON IN THE MICONE HOUSEHOLD OUR ENTIRE LIVES.
THEY WERE POOR, BUT THEY HAD A GOOD LIFE IN DOMJEAN.
HOWEVER, ARLETTE DID NOT ENJOY THE TYPE OF CHILDHOOD THAT WE HAD HERE IN BUTTE. WHEN SHE YOUNG, NAZI AND TOTALITARIAN AGGRESSION BEGAN IN EUROPE. WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 11, NAZI OCCUPATION REACHED HER VILLAGE. LIFE CHANGED.
WHEN THOM AND I BROUGHT MY MOTHER AND HER SISTER, SOLANGE, TO VISIT THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM DURING A VISIT TO DC, THEY WERE VISIBLY SHAKEN AND SHARED WITH US MANY MEMORIES FROM THAT TIME OF THEIR LIVES. THAT PERIOD FRAMED OUR MOTHER – AND THE ENTIRE MICONE AND CREUSSON FAMILIES.
I WANT TO SHARE ONE OF THOSE MEMORIES TODAY AS IT TELLS THE STORY OF OUR FAMILY AND – IN THESE TIMES – WE HAVE A MORAL OBLIGATION TO REMEMBER AND RETELL THESE STORIES.
MOM AND SOLANGE RECOUNTED MUCH ABOUT THE ABUSE OF THE NAZI REGIME – SHE RECALLED THE DAY HER JEWISH NEIGHBORS WERE MARCHED OUT OF DOMJEAN BY THE NAZI SS. THEY RECALLED HOW SHE AND SOLANGE JUMPED FROM THE SECOND STORY OF A BUILDING TO AVOID BEING RAPED BY A GERMAN SOLDIER. THEY TOLD US THAT GRANDPERE AND MY UNCLES WERE IN THE FRENCH UNDERGROUND, PASSING INFORMATION TO THE FREE FRENCH ARMY IN GREAT BRITIAN ABOUT THE OCCUPATION.
DURING THE WAR, FOOD WAS SCARCE FOR THE LOCALS. EVERYBODY IN THE FAMILY WORKED TO SCRAPE UP THE BARE NECESSITIES TO SURVIVE. EVEN GRANDPERE’S GARDEN BECAME PROPERTY OF THE NAZIS, WITH LITTLE LEFT FOR THE FAMILY.
ONE GERMAN SOLDIER BEFRIENDED THE CREUSSONS. HE WAS AN ARTIST FORM AUSTRIA AND CONSCRIPTED TO SERVICE IN THE GERMAN ARMY. THIS SOLDIER SAW THE SCRAPS OF FOOD ON WHICH THE FAMILY WAS SURVIVING. HE SPIRITED FOOD FROM THE GERMAN BARRACKS AND BROUGHT THEM TO THE CREUSSON FAMILY. AFTER THE WAR, THIS AUSTRIAN SOLDIER BECAME A POW AND WAS ASSIGNED TO WORK FOR MY FATHER. DAD WAS A SERGEANT IN THE U.S. ARMY ASSISTING WITH THE IMMEDIATE REBUILDING OF THIS AREA IN FRANCE.
ONE DAY, MY FATHER SAW THIS ATTRACTIVE YOUNG FRENCH WOMAN WITH LONG, JET-BACK HAIR AND DEEP BROWN EYES BRINGING FOOD TO THIS AUSTRIAN POW. MOM AND TANTE SOLANGE WERE BRINGING FRESH FRUIT AND PASTRIES TO THANK THIS AUSTRIAN SOLDIER FOR WHAT HE DID FOR THEM DURING THE WAR.
AND THAT’S HOW ARLETTE AND VINCE FIRST MET.
THIS STORY BEARS GREAT MEANING, AS IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF GOD’S LOVE AND COMPASSION IN THE MOST DIRE AND HORRIBLE OF TIMES. IT SPEAKS OF HOW HONOR AND FORGIVESS REFLECT EACH OTHER.
ALZHEIMERS DISEASE TAKES SO MUCH. WHAT IS LEFT IS A SHADOW OF WHAT WAS – THE ESSENSE REMAINS, BUT THE IMAGE BECOMES A FADED PICTURE, WHICH IS WHY WE MUST REMEMBER FOR THEM.
THIS IS WHAT I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER: MOM MADE SURE WE KIDS ALWAYS HAD EVERYTHING WE NEEDED. LIKE HER FATHER, SHE FILLED HER GARDEN WITH BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS EVERY SPRING. LIKE HER MOTHER, WE EACH GOT A KISS ON THE CHEEK AND AN “I LOVE YOU” EVERY NIGHT BEFORE BED.
I AM CERTAIN SHE IS IN HEAVEN NOW – GABBING WITH SOLANGE AND CAROLINE ON AUNT CARE’S PURPLE SECTIONAL. MOM, OF COURSE, IS TRANSLATTING BACK-AND-FORTH. DAD IS THERE WITH GRANDMA, GRANDPA, GRANDMERE, GRANDPERE THE REST OF THE FAMILY, GETTING READY FOR A BIG FAMILY DINNER.
THANK YOU, MOM, FOR THE 88 YEARS OF LOVE YOU PROVIDED AND FOR THE SACRIFICES YOU MADE.
BLESS YOU AND REST PEACEFULLY NOW AS YOUR JOURNEY CONTINUES IN GOD’S CARE.
by Vincent Micone, III
MOM WAS STYLISH. THERE WAS NOT A HENNESSY’S IN BUTTE, MISSOULA, OR HELENA WHERE SHE WAS NOT ON A FIRST NAME BASIS WITH THE CLERKS IN THE WOMEN’S SECTION. SHE KNEW WHEN THE NEW FASHIONS WERE COMING IN AND, EVEN BETTER, SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHEN THEY WOULD BE MARKED DOWN! SHE LOVED SHOPPING AND A GOOD SALE. IN FACT, I THINK THE ONLY HOBBY SHE LIKED MORE THAN SHOPPING WAS CLEANING AND MAKING US KIDS CLEAN!
AS WE COME TOGETHER TODAY TO REMEMBER ARLETTE, LET ME BEGIN BY THANKING ALL OF YOU FOR JOINING THIS CELEBRATION OF HER LIFE. CLAUDINE, EVELINE, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR WARM THOUGHTS AND CONDOLENCES. WE PARTICULARLY THANK THOSE WHO HAVE TRAVELLED TO BUTTE TO BE HERE TODAY, ESPECIALLY UNCLE MIKE AND AUNT PHYLLIS.
ARLETTE CREUSSON MICONE WAS BORN IN A SMALL VILLAGE IN NORMANDY, FRANCE TO EMILE AND JULIA CREUSSON IN OCTOBER OF 1928.
HER FATHER WORKED UP TO THREE JOBS ALL THE TIME AND GREW A VEGETABLE GARDEN TO FEED THE CREUSSON FAMILY.
MOM SAID HER FATHER REQUIRED GOOD MANNERS AND ADULT CONVERSATION AT THE DINNER TABLE. SHE SAID HER MOTHER WAS TOUGH AND DEMANDED GOOD BEHAVIOR AT ALL TIMES AND THAT HER KIDS RESPECT THEMSELVES AND EACH OTHER.
SHE SAID GRANDMERE KISSED HER CHILDREN EVERY NIGHT BEFORE BED…A TRADITION THAT CARRIED ON IN THE MICONE HOUSEHOLD OUR ENTIRE LIVES.
THEY WERE POOR, BUT THEY HAD A GOOD LIFE IN DOMJEAN.
HOWEVER, ARLETTE DID NOT ENJOY THE TYPE OF CHILDHOOD THAT WE HAD HERE IN BUTTE. WHEN SHE YOUNG, NAZI AND TOTALITARIAN AGGRESSION BEGAN IN EUROPE. WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 11, NAZI OCCUPATION REACHED HER VILLAGE. LIFE CHANGED.
WHEN THOM AND I BROUGHT MY MOTHER AND HER SISTER, SOLANGE, TO VISIT THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM DURING A VISIT TO DC, THEY WERE VISIBLY SHAKEN AND SHARED WITH US MANY MEMORIES FROM THAT TIME OF THEIR LIVES. THAT PERIOD FRAMED OUR MOTHER – AND THE ENTIRE MICONE AND CREUSSON FAMILIES.
I WANT TO SHARE ONE OF THOSE MEMORIES TODAY AS IT TELLS THE STORY OF OUR FAMILY AND – IN THESE TIMES – WE HAVE A MORAL OBLIGATION TO REMEMBER AND RETELL THESE STORIES.
MOM AND SOLANGE RECOUNTED MUCH ABOUT THE ABUSE OF THE NAZI REGIME – SHE RECALLED THE DAY HER JEWISH NEIGHBORS WERE MARCHED OUT OF DOMJEAN BY THE NAZI SS. THEY RECALLED HOW SHE AND SOLANGE JUMPED FROM THE SECOND STORY OF A BUILDING TO AVOID BEING RAPED BY A GERMAN SOLDIER. THEY TOLD US THAT GRANDPERE AND MY UNCLES WERE IN THE FRENCH UNDERGROUND, PASSING INFORMATION TO THE FREE FRENCH ARMY IN GREAT BRITIAN ABOUT THE OCCUPATION.
DURING THE WAR, FOOD WAS SCARCE FOR THE LOCALS. EVERYBODY IN THE FAMILY WORKED TO SCRAPE UP THE BARE NECESSITIES TO SURVIVE. EVEN GRANDPERE’S GARDEN BECAME PROPERTY OF THE NAZIS, WITH LITTLE LEFT FOR THE FAMILY.
ONE GERMAN SOLDIER BEFRIENDED THE CREUSSONS. HE WAS AN ARTIST FORM AUSTRIA AND CONSCRIPTED TO SERVICE IN THE GERMAN ARMY. THIS SOLDIER SAW THE SCRAPS OF FOOD ON WHICH THE FAMILY WAS SURVIVING. HE SPIRITED FOOD FROM THE GERMAN BARRACKS AND BROUGHT THEM TO THE CREUSSON FAMILY. AFTER THE WAR, THIS AUSTRIAN SOLDIER BECAME A POW AND WAS ASSIGNED TO WORK FOR MY FATHER. DAD WAS A SERGEANT IN THE U.S. ARMY ASSISTING WITH THE IMMEDIATE REBUILDING OF THIS AREA IN FRANCE.
ONE DAY, MY FATHER SAW THIS ATTRACTIVE YOUNG FRENCH WOMAN WITH LONG, JET-BACK HAIR AND DEEP BROWN EYES BRINGING FOOD TO THIS AUSTRIAN POW. MOM AND TANTE SOLANGE WERE BRINGING FRESH FRUIT AND PASTRIES TO THANK THIS AUSTRIAN SOLDIER FOR WHAT HE DID FOR THEM DURING THE WAR.
AND THAT’S HOW ARLETTE AND VINCE FIRST MET.
THIS STORY BEARS GREAT MEANING, AS IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF GOD’S LOVE AND COMPASSION IN THE MOST DIRE AND HORRIBLE OF TIMES. IT SPEAKS OF HOW HONOR AND FORGIVESS REFLECT EACH OTHER.
ALZHEIMERS DISEASE TAKES SO MUCH. WHAT IS LEFT IS A SHADOW OF WHAT WAS – THE ESSENSE REMAINS, BUT THE IMAGE BECOMES A FADED PICTURE, WHICH IS WHY WE MUST REMEMBER FOR THEM.
THIS IS WHAT I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER: MOM MADE SURE WE KIDS ALWAYS HAD EVERYTHING WE NEEDED. LIKE HER FATHER, SHE FILLED HER GARDEN WITH BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS EVERY SPRING. LIKE HER MOTHER, WE EACH GOT A KISS ON THE CHEEK AND AN “I LOVE YOU” EVERY NIGHT BEFORE BED.
I AM CERTAIN SHE IS IN HEAVEN NOW – GABBING WITH SOLANGE AND CAROLINE ON AUNT CARE’S PURPLE SECTIONAL. MOM, OF COURSE, IS TRANSLATTING BACK-AND-FORTH. DAD IS THERE WITH GRANDMA, GRANDPA, GRANDMERE, GRANDPERE THE REST OF THE FAMILY, GETTING READY FOR A BIG FAMILY DINNER.
THANK YOU, MOM, FOR THE 88 YEARS OF LOVE YOU PROVIDED AND FOR THE SACRIFICES YOU MADE.
BLESS YOU AND REST PEACEFULLY NOW AS YOUR JOURNEY CONTINUES IN GOD’S CARE.
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