Ann
Van Bavel
Born September 28, 1918
Died August 4, 2000
Ann
Van Bracht and Leendert Van Bavel got married in 1945.
Leendert
had narrowly escaped being shipped to Auchwitz when they were engaged.
My grandmother
smuggled him out of the line that was heading to the prison trains.
She spoke
German (her parents were German and she lived on the border of Germany).
With her
blue eyes and blonde hair, she moved about freely, posing as a German freulein.
Once, to
escape detection, she accepted a Nazi officer's invitation for tea.
Grandma
and Grandpa at the beach.
My grandmother
was a theater actress in South Africa. She is the one in the middle.
She moved
to Hollywood and became a Hollywood Housewife.
They lived
right down the street from Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, and were friends with
their family.
Grandma
always loved leopard print!
That's
my mom in the background.
Her best
friend (who died in 1999) was a world famous photographer.
He took
many pictures of my Grandmother and our whole family, including my baptism
photo.
Grandma
and Mom (Ann and Margaret).
Margaret
Van Bavel (age 20) marries Fredrick van den Berg (29) in 1969.
Their adorable
first child, Monique, is adopted in 1975.
My sister is adopted in 1978.
My grandfather dies in 1984
Grandma
always loved to travel. Here she is at the Parthenon, where I was
in May of 2000.