Destinies - Chapter VI
DESTINE
Chapter VI - The Family Tree and Index
Written by Adina Chitu
English translation prepared for Owl Spit
This section preserves the family tree and the author's biographical index. Names and family relationships follow the Romanian original; place names and explanatory text are presented in English.
The Family Tree
Names remain in their original form. Location key: Bucuresti = Bucharest; Franta = France; SUA = USA.
Index
Characters in Destine and members of the family tree
I considered it necessary to provide more detail about the characters and people who appear in Destine and in the family tree, so that readers might remember more easily these figures - heroic, from my point of view - and in the hope that perhaps one reader will have the courage or perseverance to continue completing the family tree and, why not, the book itself.
A
ANGHEL COSTEA - He was the father of my grandmother - that is, my great-grandfather. He married Catinca and was an innkeeper in Braila. His tavern bore the sign "La Calul Balan" ("At the Bay Horse") and stood on Rosiori Street.
ALEXANDRINA BUCSENEANU - She was the sister of Aurel Gheorghiu (Mos Tataie) and the baptismal godmother of Corneliu Gheorghiu and Alexandrina Chitu (nee Gheorghiu).
AUREL GHEORGHIU - He was the son of Costea and Paraschiva Gheorghiu, the central figure - the hero - of this book, and the author's father.
ANGELA GHEORGHIU - Born Angela Antoniu, she married Corneliu Gheorghiu. She is retired and lives in Braila.
ALEXANDRINA CHITU - Born Alexandrina Gheorghiu, she is the author of this book. After forty years of service to Romanian education as a teacher of Romanian Language and Literature, she retired. She lives in Bucharest and continues to write books.
ADINA NEDELCU - She is the daughter of Gheorghe Nedelcu. She married, has two children, and lives in Bucharest.
ANDRA BUNEA - Born Andra Gheorghiu, she is the daughter of Corneliu and Angela Gheorghiu. She is married to Liviu Bunea; they have two children, Cristian and Nicole, and are settled in Toronto, Canada. She currently works as an assistant manager in her husband's company.
ALEXANDRU CATANESCU - He is the younger son of Maria and Ovidiu Catanescu. Born in the United States, he currently works in New York.
ADRIAN CATANESCU - He is the elder son of Maricica and Ion Catanescu. He is married to Valeria (Valy) and graduated from the Faculty of Animal Husbandry in Bucharest. In 1990 he and his wife settled in Chicago, USA. He is now retired. They have no children.
B
BOGDAN CHITU - He is the younger son of Alexandrina and Dan Chitu. A graduate of the Faculty of Law in Bucharest, he is married to Mihaela and currently works at ING Bank. He practiced judo for twenty years and won many gold and silver medals in Romania and abroad. He is passionate about powerful cars - he has a Jeep Renegade - and computers. They have no children.
BOGDAN-PETRU CHITU - He is the son of Ion-Razvan Chitu and the author's only grandson living in Bucharest. At the time this book was written, he was a tenth-grade student. Like his father, he was passionate about cars, motorcycles, and computers. He enjoyed foreign languages - English, French, Italian, Greek, and Latin - as well as travel abroad.
C
CATINCA - She was married first to the Greek Ianis Graminopol, with whom she had three children - George, Iorgu, and Margareta - and later to Anghel Costea, with whom she had two daughters, Maria (Nana) and Sorica. Sorica was the mother of Tudorita (Mama Ica).
COSTEA GHEORGHIU - He was Aurel Gheorghiu's father and the paternal grandfather of the author. He lived all his life in Isaccea, where he owned a cafe. He liked to sit in front of his cafe and smoke his hookah. He had twelve children, eight of whom survived.
CRISTACHE GHEORGHIU - He was one of Aurel Gheorghiu's brothers.
CORNELIU GHEORGHIU - Known as Cornel, he was the son of Tudorita and Aurel Gheorghiu. He was a history teacher and school principal in Braila. Gifted with great charm, he drew both children and adults around him and captivated them with his stories. He enjoyed drinking escapades with friends, for which his wife and daughter often scolded him. He was invited to run for senator from Braila on the PRM ticket, but chose instead to join his daughter in Canada with his wife, Angela. Deeply attached to his native Braila, he did not adapt to life there. After three years he returned to Braila and published his impressions of Canada in the local newspaper. The shock of returning, and probably the diabetes from which he suffered, triggered a depression that worsened and that doctors described as irreversible. He later received professional care in a specialized clinic, alongside his wife's devoted support. He passed away in August 2020.
CRISTIAN BUNEA - He is the son of Andra and Liviu Bunea. Born in Canada, he is a theatre and film director and screenwriter.
CRISTINA RIMBERT - She is the daughter of Elena (Nuta) and Florea (Nina) Gheorghiu. She had two children from her first marriage, Simona and Dorin. After her husband's death, she married a French citizen, moved to France, and later brought both children there. After that husband died, she married another French citizen. Following the death of her second husband, Rimbert, she bought a home in Toulouse, where she lives in retirement.
D
DORINA - She was Aurel Gheorghiu's sister and married a man named Stefanescu.
DAN CHITU - He is the husband of the author of this book.
DAN GHEORGHIU - He is the son of Maria (Puica) and Ionel Gheorghiu. Retired and living in Bucharest, he is passionate about raising domestic animals and about computers. He has one adopted child.
DIANA CHITU - She is the former wife of Razvan Chitu. She lives in Bucharest and works in Child Protection within the Sector 4 City Hall.
DORIN MOGOS - He is Cristina's son. Permanently settled in France, he has two beautiful children, Emma and Alexandru.
E
ELENA GHEORGHIU (NUTA) - Born Elena Avramescu, she was the wife of Florea Gheorghiu (Nina) and the mother of Cristina Rimbert. In 2008 she settled in France, together with her granddaughter Simona. She lives in Toulouse as a retiree.
ELENA GHEORGHIU - She was the second child of Tudorita and Aurel Gheorghiu. Sadly, she died at two years of age. She was the favorite of Ion Musat, Sorica's husband; she would twist his moustache, to his great delight and affection for his little niece.
ELENA MARIA CATANESCU - Also called Marcea or Maricica, and born Elena Maria Gheorghiu, she was the third child of Tudorita and Aurel Gheorghiu and the mother of Adrian and Ovidiu Catanescu. She learned needlework from an early age. She died young, at only forty-eight, and is buried in Izvorul Nou Cemetery in Bucharest. Each month, Adina and Dan Chitu light a candle at her grave. She was cheerful and optimistic, always smiling; while she lived, her home was always filled with relatives and beloved guests.
EMMA MOGOS - She is Dorin Mogos's daughter and was born in France. In photographs she appears to be a cheerful, sweet, and very beautiful little girl.
F
FLORIAN GHEORGHIU - Known as Nina or Floru, he was the eldest son of Tudorita and Aurel Gheorghiu. He was married to Elena Gheorghiu (Nuta) and was Cristina's father. Until retirement he worked at the Progresul Works in Braila, distinguishing himself as a skilled technician and an innovator in industrial production. Sadly, a relentless illness ended his life while he was still full of creative strength - and he had so many plans.
G
IANIS GRAMINOPOL - He was Catinca's first husband, with whom she had three children: George, Iorgu, and Margareta. He was killed by a gambling partner.
GEORGE MOGOS - He was Cristina's first husband and the father of Simona and Dorin. He died young in an automobile accident.
GHEORGHE GHEORGHIU - He was one of Aurel Gheorghiu's brothers.
GEORGE GRAMINOPOL - He was the firstborn son of Ianis Graminopol. Gifted with great intelligence and natural talent, he learned several foreign languages. He often went to the port of Braila, where he enjoyed speaking with foreign sailors. One day he left for the port and never returned. They waited one day, two, three - nine. Much later, an acquaintance claimed to have seen him somewhere in France.
GEORGE NEDELCU - Known as Gigi, he is the son of Marioara and Stefan Nedelcu (Nea Fanel). He is retired and lives in Braila.
GABRIEL CATANESCU - He is the elder son of Maria and Ovidiu Catanescu. Born in the United States, he currently works for a large company in California.
I
IORGU GRAMINOPOL - He was the second son of Ianis Graminopol. Naturally handsome and well built, he was much courted by women.
ION MUSAT - He was the maternal grandfather of the author of this book.
ION CATANESCU - Known as Vanea, he was the husband of Maricica Catanescu and the father of Adrian and Ovidiu. He was capable and hardworking. One year after his wife's death, he remarried and settled in Constanta. He died in 2016 and rests in the Central Cemetery of Constanta.
IONEL GHEORGHIU - He was the son of Tudorita and Aurel Gheorghiu. He worked as an electronics engineer in the military and later at ICE Electronum Bucharest, which gave him many opportunities to travel abroad. He was married to Maria Stoica (Puica), from whom he divorced, and later married Mandita in the United States. After divorcing Mandita, he returned to his family. He died in 2019 and was cremated; his ashes were placed in the resting place of his first wife's family. His first marriage produced two children, Ileana and Danut.
ILEANA GHEORGHIU - She is the daughter of Maria and Ionel Gheorghiu. She was married to Sorin Georgescu, a cellist in the Orchestra of the Romanian National Opera in Bucharest, and they have a daughter, Irina. After divorcing Sorin, she remarried and took the surname Avram.
IRINA GEORGESCU - She is the daughter of Sorin Georgescu and Ileana. She studied sociology at the University of Bucharest. She works online and translates specialized papers and articles published abroad.
L
LIVIU BUNEA - He is Andra's husband, and they have two children, Cristian and Nicole. The family is permanently settled in Toronto, Canada. Hardworking, persistent, and creative, he owns a municipal construction company.
M
MARGARETA GRAMINOPOL - She was the daughter of Catinca and Ianis Graminopol. After Ianis's tragic death, Catinca left the child on the steps of a wealthy family's home in Braila, hoping her daughter would have a better life. After a while she returned for the child she longed for, only to learn from neighbors that the adoptive family had moved permanently to France without leaving an address.
MARIA ANGHEL - Also called Nana or Maritica, she was the daughter of Catinca and Costea Anghel. At Schela Mare, she greatly helped Tudorita (Mama Ica) raise her five children.
MARIN ANGHEL MUSAT - He was the son of Sorica and Ion Musat and the elder brother of Tudorita (Mama Ica) and Marioara Nedelcu.
MARIOARA NEDELCU - She was Tudorita's sister and was married to Stefan Nedelcu (Nea Fanel). They had two sons, Marian and George (Gigi), whom she cared for as a devoted mother until her death.
MARIA STOICA - Known as Puica, she was married to Ionel Gheorghiu, with whom she had two children, Ileana and Danut. She was a biology teacher and the principal of a school near Bucharest. She lives in retirement in Bucharest and gives private piano lessons.
MARIAN NEDELCU - He is the elder son of Marioara and Stefan Nedelcu. He was not especially devoted to schoolwork, but always benefited from the help and support of his family. He settled near Braila, where he manages his brother's farm.
MARIA CATANESCU - She is the wife of Ovidiu Catanescu, with whom she has two sons, Gabriel and Alexandru. An engineer by profession, she settled with her husband in the United States. She is now retired.
MIHAELA CHITU - She is the wife of Bogdan-Aurel Chitu, whom she married in 2012 after an engagement of about eight years. An economist by profession, she worked for several multinational banks in Bucharest and currently works at Alpha Bank. They have no children. They enjoy trips in Romania and abroad, to the mountains and the sea, and can camp in the tent carried by their Jeep Renegade. When one of Bogdan's good friends was asked why he had not married, he replied simply: "I have not yet found a woman like Mihaela."
N
STEFAN NEDELCU - He was Marioara's husband and the father of Marian and George (Gigi). He was hardworking and devoted to his family. In retirement, he established a nutria farm, tending the animals with great dedication, carrying them abundant grass and carrots and always providing clean water. After his death, Marioara mourned and missed him until the final moment of her life.
NICOLE BUNEA - She is the daughter of Andra and Liviu Bunea. Born in Canada, she received a sound education in every respect. She played tennis for many years, traveling frequently to matches in Canada and Europe. She grew into a poised young woman and won the title of Miss Canada. At the time this book was written, she was studying at a university in Italy.
O
OVIDIU CATANESCU - He is the son of Marcea (Maricica) and Ion Catanescu (Vanea). He studied at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. He is married to Maria Catanescu. They settled in the United States and have two sons, Gabriel and Alexandru.
R
ION-RAZVAN CHITU - He is the elder son of Alexandrina and Dan Chitu. He graduated from the Faculty of Animal Husbandry in Bucharest and has a son, Petru. For twenty years he worked in the Mayor's Inspection Corps within Bucharest's Sector 4 City Hall. He is passionate about cars - he has two - motorcycles - he has a Suzuki - and computers. To those around him he is a true paterfamilias, someone who can be relied upon whenever help is needed.
S
SORICA ANGHEL - She was married to Ion Musat, with whom she had three children: Marin, Tudorita, and Marioara. As a grandmother, she greatly helped Marioara raise her two children, Marian and George (Gigi).
SIMONA MOGOS - She is the daughter of Cristina Rimbert and George Mogos, who died young in an automobile accident. She settled in France with her mother, brother, and grandmother. She lives with her husband in Toulouse, near the home of her grandmother Nuta, and works in an accounting office.
T
TUDORITA GHEORGHIU - Known as Mama Ica and born Tudorita Musat, she was the mother of the author of this book. Over the years she had six children with Aurel Gheorghiu (Mos Tataie), as well as many grandchildren whom she cared for and raised with admirable devotion.
Contents of the Original Romanian Edition
Foreword - 7
Chapter I - Aurel and Tudorita - 11
Chapter II - Grandma Tinca - 21
Chapter III - Childhood: Schela Mare-Moreni - 31
Chapter IV - The Prisons - 45
Chapter V - Five Children, Five Destinies - 69
Chapter VI - The Family Tree - 101
Index - 105