Letters from Anita

Anita (Loveman) Sellers and Nanny Ireland, 1960

I wrote a few years ago about the efforts I took to track down my father's youngest half-sister, Carol (http://www.ancestraldiscoveries.com/2021/08/finding-my-aunt-carol.html), and her mother, Anita, so I could return several photographs to them.  After that, Anita and I wrote to each other for a while.  Recently I was going through one of my genealogy folders and found three letters that Anita had written to me.  I had been trying to remember when exactly I had been able to find her, and I guess it must have been around 2001, because that's when the first letter from her is dated.

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17 Oct 01

Dear Janice,

I'm sorry it took me so long to answer.  I really appreciate your sending me the pictures and the family tree for the Sellers family.  This is really a complicated amount of facts.

Your Mother was the second wife of your Dad.  Right?  Her name was Myra Meckler.

Bert always called your Dad, (Sunny).

I'm glad you also sent Carol a copy of the family tree.  Did you get to talk to her.  Please forgive my writing.  After breaking both wrists I tend to scribble.

Thought you might like to know Carol did go to college with my help only.  Her Dad never sent us a penny.  She was 17 and graduated 4 years later from Douglas College in New Brunswick NJ.

I worked at Fort Dix N J for 22 years.  Because I had no college I could not get a higher position than a GS-4 Top Pay.

God has been Good to us and I managed to take care of myself & Carol with no help.

I had to retire at 60 years old as Mother was sick and had to have my help.  She died at age 89 and my husband Henry Reynolds died at 79.  He insisted I go live near Carol in Fla.  I've been here for 12 years.

Pray you are keeping well and thanks again for caring enough to contact me.

All the pictures were of my family or Berts, plus a few friends.  Did you notice too the one of Nanny Ireland.  She stayed with us for 6 months after we were married.

Will close for now and thanks again.

A friend & relative

Anita

P.S. You have such beautiful hand writing.  Hope you are able to read mine.

☺

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19 Nov 01

Dear Janice,

I went through all my photos and found a couple you might like.  I am sending these four because they show Nanny Ireland plus. (other family)

I wrote on the back of them.  They were mostly taken in 1960 while we were visiting (Aunt Bettys in NJ) except for the one of Carol at age 6 months.  I couldn't remember Aunt Catherine's husband's name.

I'm surprised your Dad didn't recognize Nanny Ireland.

You might not want the one of me with Nanny but it was a better one of her. ☺

I would love to have a picture of you.

I really liked Sonny, as his Dad called him.  I'm sorry if he felt unkind toward me because of his Mom.  I didn't know they were still together.

Yes, I did meet Mary Lou while they were still married and Carol was a baby.

If you would like a picture of me at age 75, I'll send you one.  If you wouldn't I won't be offended.

Hope to hear soon again.

Love Anita

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6 Aug 02

Dear Janice

Was so good to hear from you.

I too want to say thank you for sending me your picture a while back.  I don't think I ever told you thank you.

Glad you were pleased with the picture I sent of Bert's family.  I gave you the one I thought you would want.

No I never saw that picture before.  It looks like a baby boy because the hands and feet are large.  Where did you find this picture?  What was the background on this picture?  The nose and ears don't look like your Dads or Carols.

Please forgive my writing.  My wrist has arthritis in it and hurts when I write much.

Carol has some of your Dad's features.  When Carol was born she had a little bump in one ear (Like a mole).  The doctors took it off.  They told me that your Dad had that same bump or mole in the same ear.

How's your Dad doing?  Say hello to him for me.  He was always nice to me.

I guess the weather there is hot like here.  We have 90's every day.

God is good and I'm doing OK for an old lady ☺ 76.

Write me when you get time.  From looking at your picture I can see you have a beautiful personality and a very pretty & sweet face.

I'm so glad you got in touch with me.  Thanks for wanting to know me.  My wrist is really messing up.  Hope you can read this.

Guess I better close for now.

Pray you are keeping well.

Love Anita

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I know I would have told Anita I wanted a photo of her, but she didn't end up sending me one.  So the photos I have of her are from when she was married to my grandfather, which was from June 20, 1953 to August 1961.  The photo in this post is the one she mentioned in her letter of November 2001, taken in 1960 in New Jersey.