This is an interesting grouping of men from my family tree. In the center is my maternal grandfather, James William Halvangis (1920-1973). He was a member of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. During much of his active service he was stationed in Greenland. Taken some time between 1943 and 1945 James stands with several of his in-laws.
The original black and white photograph was colorized by our in-house colorization artist here at The Psychogenealogist. I gave several of these this as gifts last year and they made for memorable and poignant mementoes.
Learn more about how to give your own photo colorization gifts.
The rest of people are related, either by blood or marriage, to James’s wife, my grandmother Claire Pawlowski Halvangis (1916-1980). Grandma Halvangis was the very first person I wrote about on The Psychogenealogist Blog back in 2016.
The man on the far right is my great grandfather (Claire’s father), Adam Pawlowski (1879-1959), a Polish immigrant who spoke little English. According to one family member’s memory of him, he had hands “permanently yellowed from cigarettes and he had false teeth that he kept in a glass next to his bed.”
The man on the far left wearing the brown fedora hat is Frank Zuzek (1904-1981). Frank was the husband of Claire’s sister, my great aunt Viola Pawlowski Zuzek (1906-1983). As his obituary states, “For 58 years, Frank Zuzek was the voice of the Detroit River, a point of contact between bosses and skippers, between sailors and their families, a source of news and, when necessary, help.”
The tallest man in the back wearing the black fedora is Wilfred K. Yuergens (1909-1998). Wilfred was the husband of Claire’s sister, my great aunt Irene Pawlowski Yuergens (1914)-2004). The boy standing in the front and center is Wilfred and Irene’s son, Jerome J. Yuergens (1935-1998).
The older boy on the far left is Ted Agacinski (1929-1934). He is the nephew of James and Claire, and the son of Claire’s sister, Mary Pawlowski Agacinski (1907-1984) and her husband John Agacinski (1894-1950).
What strikes me so much about this photograph is what it conveys about the importance of relationships that occur because of marriage. It is a wonderfully composed and balanced photo. James stand proudly in the center and holds his nephew’s (by marriage) arms. There is a mix of subtle smiles and serious but calm faces. These are men who only came together by virtue of their wives.
The father (Adam) of daughters (Claire, Viola, and Irene) stands with his sons in-law and two grandsons. These men and boys stood together because it meant something to the family. It was important to do so.
I am glad that they did.
Related posts: World War II
This is an interesting grouping of men in my family tree. My grandfather, James William Halvangis (1920-1973) stands with his father in-law, two brothers in-law, and two nephews some time between 1943 and 1945. Photo was colorized by Okkama Colorizations at The Psychogenealogist (2019).