Aunt Rae

As the oldest sibling she played a significant role helping her mother with all the other children. Aunt Rae did not have a bad bone in her body.  She was all about goodness, love, and giving.  Aunt Rae was the hub of the family after Nona passed.  Aunt Rae leaves us with a legacy of love and giving.  Her stories and her life are all about love and family, and being there for each other. 

 

Aunt Rae was asked some questions by me (Marty) in the late 1980s and this is what she wrote in answer to my questions:

 

A. My favorite story about my mother is:

I had 1 wedding to organize and I was exhausted.  I asked my Mother how did she manage 4 weddings in 9 months - the answer - "One at a time."  She said Morris and Esther were first to get married, then came Sarah and Elliot, then came Terry and Sidney and last came Jesse and Dotty.

I was pregnant to Elliot when your parents (Morris and Esther) married and I was still pregnant when Jesse and Dotty were married.

 

B. My favorite story about my father is:

My father used to shop on the East Side of NY when my mother told him we needed shoes.   He came home with a carton full of girls and boys shoes.  We all tried them on until one would fit.  Some got 3 pairs and others none.

 

C. My favorite story about my brother Oscar is:

Oscar stayed with me for 6 months as a deferment of war, if you work for the Defense Department.  So he stayed with us in Baltimore, MD.  He didn't know a screw driver from a wrench.  He finally learned but it was funny when he told the story of how he would disappear when he didn't know what they wanted.

 

D. My favorite story about my sister Sarah:

When it rained in the summer, my mother would open the living room sliding doors and she would take out some games that we would play as a group. Sari didn't want to play with the young ones.  She wanted to play with the dice, so she grabbed the dice and ran around the room.  She had no place to hid the dice, so she put it up her nose.   She couldn't get it out.  I called my mother.  She said, when we all say, 1 - 2 - 3, Sari, you blow out.  After a few blows out came the dice, then she spanked her for not playing with her group.

 

E. A story about my father or mother and their childhood in Greece:

Janina was a small community in northern Greece.  They had a nice size Plaka - like in Athens.  My mother knew my father there but my father came to America with his married sister, husband and children - at the age of 16 - with $10.00 to his name.   He stayed with some Greek relatives and he sold thread to manufacturing businesses.   My mother came a few years later and met my father here.

 

G. My favorite adventure as a child was:

Going to the Statue of Liberty.  I took all my sisters and brothers there also.

 

H. My best memory of childhood was:

Going to the beach and Steeplechase on Saturday in the summertime.

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Aunt Rae Memories for my Great Grandchildren

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Written by Aunt Rae and typed up by Aunt Sarah which is distributed to the family. This link is to her life stories for her grandchildren.

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Her daughter Carole shared some stories about our family from her vantage point as the eldest grandchild.