Dear Family,
Saturday, February 5, is Grandma Helen's 110th birthday!! She was a remarkable and courageous woman who was way ahead of her time in thoughts and deeds, blending the values of the old country with the realities of her new country.
A child of poor, illiterate farmers in Turkey during the Ottoman Empire, she was orphaned at age 14, graduated from an American--sponsored school for girls at 16, married later that year, and gave birth to several daughters by the time she was almost 23. I came along 11 years later.
She loved America, where she enjoyed the opportunity and freedom she had dreamed about. She helped Grandpa in his grocery stores when it was not common for married women in the U.S. to work. She also helped him learn English so they both could pass the citizenship test and the driver's test in English.
She loved her family very much and was proud of all of us. She encouraged her daughters to get a good education and do things she never had an opportunity to do as a child--have music lessons, learn to type, and drive a car when we were old enough.
We 4 girls passed along Grandma's values to her 12 grandchildren and hopefully to her many great-grandchildren. If you wish to know more about Grandma Helen's life, ask your mother or grandmother for a copy of the book she wrote about herself, at Betty's insistence during her later years. Jenk Stephenson graciously typed it on the computer for posterity. Let's keep our heritage alive!