My paternal side of the family tree were dealt with two major blows within a two year span. When Thanksgiving 2010 came around, with it came the loss of the family patriarch. Less than two years later the family lost the matriarch over Labor Day weekend. Although we do not celebrate these very American holidays… it is impossible to forget the loss of loved ones from so far during a time where family is paramount.
Because they chose to stay in the old country during the Fall… it was difficult for the children to communicate with the parents that have instilled strong qualities of survival; to brace themselves in a world that was unfamiliar to them. When the barriers of communications were lifted and the children were able to communicate with the parents again… it was with many new additions of wives, husbands and grandchildren.
So when the children felt the loss of their beloved parents: a Memorial was set up, first via Facebook… and later an independent website to commemorate the lives of these two individuals both of whom were prominent fixtures in the lives of their eight children and numerous grandchildren (with a few great-grandchildren sprinkled in for good measure).
Within the website there are slideshows of the many branches of the family tree stemming from the lost patriarch and matriarch… through their children and then grandchildren. Memories of the parents from their children’s point of view and moments remembered by the children and grandchildren are all commemorated in this new digital age… and hopefully all of our descendants will grow to love and understand those that came before them.