Ok..so here are two more photos of my father Emile with his cousins on leave after the liberation of Paris (a follow up to the post below). I am almost certain the man is his cousin Yves Jouffa and the woman Yves sister Roselyne– but I am waiting for the family in France to confirm this. I find these old photographs so endearing, their faces so open and vulnerable to the camera. They want to remember themselves like this, happy to be alive, to be reunited again after such horrible times. It is odd for me as my father's child to find myself now so much older and relating to these photos of him the age of my children now with a nostalgic affection and amusement. I feel protective of that younger Emile — and charmed by those oh so expressive eyebrows of his and that boyish smile (never-mind the pipe!).
The cousin in the first photo is Tante Renee’s beloved daughter, Rosline, who died an early death of nephritis ( I am not totally sure of this, or her name ), the same decease Emile suffered from as a young boy. He was very close to her. They were like sisters, he told me.
As for the second photo the cousin is, no doubt, Yves Youffa. I have seen this picture before, but looking at it again makes me realize even more than before how different these two men were. Emile, warm, open, exuberant leaning toward his older cousin whom he greatly admired ( they spent many childhood summers together in Clairemont Ferrant). Yves more guarded, cooler, much more measured in his relationship with cousin Emile whom he loved and always welcomed with great affection, generosity and gentleness when seeing him in Paris. It’s spooky how Carl looks like Emile here….
Thanks EP…I knew the woman had been special to Emile — and had died young — I just wasn’t sure of her name. I was thinking how much Francois looked like Yves at the same age which is why I guessed he had to be a Jouffa!
And yes, Emile and Carl really do look alike in their Navy rigs — right down to the broken nose. I am hoping Carl will let me post a photo of him alongside one of Dad soon….
Sorry : Saint-Jean-de-Mont in Vendée,…where my mom Denise met my dad Yves Jouffa in 1939…where Roselyne Jouffa (Yves’young sister)died during 1945 summer hollidays.
Hey Francois,
Thanks for the corrections! I did know about Emile’s real father — we spoke of it a lot after he found out about it. It mattered to me because that is my lineage too! A fascinating little bit of family history.
But Emile’s nose was most definitely broken and more than once (he said in a fight!) He was kind of proud about it in fact. As for E.P. — that’s Eva, Emile’s wife, whom I am pretty sure you know — yes?