Family nostalgia: remembering an aunt and uncle

Herbert Fink

An aunt and an uncle: my mother had a sister in Manhattan, who put me up hospitably if a bit possessively. She suffered from a curvature of the spine but absolutely nothing could slow her down. Married twice, she had a daughter who died – which may explain why she struck me as somewhat overprotective. A framed photo of her daughter was on display for some years, but one day it vanished from view. She divorced her first husband, my kindly uncle Leonard, an amateur violinist. But get this: when last I saw my aunt Lillian, she told him to marry her good friend, and he did so, and I attended that wedding!

Next: I had an uncle, my father's youngest brother, who figures in this family story. Uncle Herb was an artist, who built a skiff, who fought and was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge and came home on crutches, and I attended his wedding and kept the portrait he painted of his bride through my college years, until he asked me to return it. I did so and regretted giving it up, although he generously gave me some of his other works which created a visual autobiography. He depicted the story of his life and travels in his art. However, it was a life that was also marked by tragedy. Herb had two sons, and both committed suicide. Their one sister still stays in touch with me.

When my maternal aunt, Lillian, visited me, in Paris, with her husband, they arrived, to my astonishment on a motorcycle! My paternal uncle, Herb, was responsible for inspiring my career: he urged me to apply to RISD, where I ended up teaching for a remarkable 64 years. I have long wanted to thank both sides of my family with a grateful memoir of these relatives steeped in such details. The ones I share here give a mere glimpse of them, but they are presented with loving nostalgia!

MIKE FINK (mfink33@aol.com) is a professor emeritus at the Rhode Island School of Design.