H. Fel Chabot's father, Louis Marie Ferdinand
Demunter, circa 1921. |
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Louis Demunter in Army conscription uniform
(mandatory service in Belgium); circa 1919 (note: He died at 28 years of
age of tuberculosis; he was a horticulturalist (did landscaping and
gardening) and liked to paint as a hobby. |
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Fel at about 3 months old. Taken at 116 Avenue Albert Giraud in Brussels, Belgium
(in suburb called Schaerbeek), with grandfather Felix Wouters, grandmother Marie Jennes Wouters,
mother Jeanne Julia Wouters Demunter and baby Fel Demunter Chabot. |
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In the park next to 116
Avenue Albert Giraud. Fel is with mother and grandmother Wouters, in
winter 1923/24. |
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Fel and mother on the beach in
Coxyde (Koksijde), Belgium, 1924. |
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At beach in Coxyde, 1924, a
posed photo taken at the beach. |
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Fel Chabot, studio picture
taken in Brussels at age 3. |
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Fel's kindergarten class, in
front row middle with bobbed hair. Blond girl on her right is Jeanne
Terken, and Fel went through 9th grade with her. Boy on her left was her
boyfriend at the time. Was the "fresh air" school for children
who were sickly and needed fresh air. Fel had tubercular addinitis as a
child and doctors thought she wouldn't live past age 7. |
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Studio picture of Fel Chabot,
age 3. |
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Uncle Edmond in the Belgium
Congo; in Belgian army training native troops and he was working as a
volunteer from 1917-1923, with 6 month break in 1920. He never was
educated beyond 8th grade, but during the time in the Congo, he mixed with
officers and was educated by them. When he returned to Belgium in 1923, he
could not find a job he liked, and he was married at the time to Fel's
aunt, a schoolteacher. So with home studies he applied to the University
of Brussels law faculty (it is customary to enter faculties right after
high school in Belgium), and eventually became a lawyer and later a judge
at the low courts in Brussels. |
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Fel's First Communion picture
at age 10 (1934). |
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In Coxyde, up on dunes nearby
(Hoogenblikker), 1931. Picture is of Uncle Louis and aunt Marie, maternal
grandmother and Fel; are seated in uncle Louis' first car, a Peugeot. |
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Taken in 1932, in front of
Villa Maria in village of Coxyde. Seated on car is Fel, on Fel's right is
her mother, and starting with her immediate left and seated is maternal
grandmother, standing is Uncle Louis, seated is Aunt Marie, standing is
Aunt Elise and seated in the cabbages is Uncle Edmond. This home was
destroyed by bombs in World War II in 1940. Burt and Caryl have a picture
of this site, now a set of garages, taken in May '98. This was a summer
vacation home. |
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Same as above, with piece of
neighbor's house. From left to right as follows: Uncle
Louis, Fel, Fel's mother, aunt Elise, Uncle Edmond, maternal grandmother
(note: Uncle Edmond and maternal grandmother are playing backgammon) and
aunt Marie. |
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Same site as above, Fel and
neighbor boy Marcel Claes. 1931. |
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Same site as above, from left
to right as follows: Seated is aunt Elise, sitting are Marcel and Fel,
middle is Fel's mother, then uncle Louis and aunt Marie. |
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Same site as above, from left
to right as follows: maternal grandmother, aunt Elise, Fel, Fel's mother,
uncle Louis, aunt Marie, and the dog Myrsa. |
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Park in Brussels across from
116 Avenue Albert Geraud, with tenant's daughter, Anna Mouton. Grandmother
rented out floors of 116. |
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Same site as above. |
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In Coxyde, in the dunes on a
walk. From left to right: Fel's mother, Fel, aunt Marie, uncle Louis and
maternal grandmother; 1932. |
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Same site as above, from left to
right: Grandmother, aunt Marie, uncle Louis, Fel and her mother. |
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Taken in 1933; at the dunes
which started at right; road is road to village of Coxyde; front row, left
to right: Fel, uncle Louis and uncle Edmond, with dog Myrsa; standing from
left to right: grandmother, aunt Marie, Fel's mother and aunt Elise. |
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Taken in 1933; at the dunes
at St. Idesbald. From bottom to top: Fel, her mother, grandmother, aunt
Elise, aunt Marie, Myrsa and Uncle Louis. |
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A picture taken in 1933 in
front of chapel in St. Idesbald. The chapel was turned into a tavern circa
1936 and is currently an art gallery (1998). Seated in front is aunt Marie
and Fel's mother, second row is aunt Elise standing, uncle Louis seated
with Myrsa, then in background is grandmother, Fel and uncle Edmond. |
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Taken in 1933; picture of
Villa Felicie when new. Built when Fel was 10 years old and in boarding
school. Fel's mother hired an architect and a contractor to build this
house in Keerbergen, 15 miles northeast of Brussels; weekend retreat for
Fel's mother to get away from grandmother. On porch from left to right is
aunt Marie, Fel's mother and Fel, and uncle Louis' dog Rip. Burt and Caryl
and Michele and Peter have pictures of this house in 1998. |
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Same site as above; on porch
standing from left to right are: Mother, uncle Louis, grandmother, and
seated on porch wall is Fel. 1933. |
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Same site as above, 1933. Front row,
left to right: Marie Therese Pawels and brother Edouard and Fel; (note:
Fel made her apron she was wearing in school); standing from left to right
is: Uncle Louis, parents of Melanie Pawels, Fel's grandmother and mother,
then Melanie Pawels. Melanie was a friend of Fel's mother. |
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Taken August 1936; in Coxyde;
Fel and cousin Paule in tent built with car tarp in front of house. Paule
is niece of aunt Marie and aunt Elise, daughter of their sister Anna. She
was Fel's second cousin. |
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Same as above. |
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Same as above. |
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Picture in Coxyde, of Fel,
uncle Edmond and Paule; 1936. |
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Building a new tent, 1936 in
Coxyde; uncle Louis, Paule and Fel. |
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The new tent, 1936; picture
includes cousins but difficult to see on right:
Willy Degreef and Simone Degreef. |
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Finished tent, left to right
is grandmother, Fel, Paule and Fel's mother, aunt Marie and cousin Anna;
dog is Rip. |
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On boardwalk at Coxyde, 1936;
is uncle Louis, Aunt Marie and Fel (boy is unrelated). |
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On boardwalk in Coxyde, Fel
and her mother. |
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Identification picture of Fel;
required in Belgium once a person is 14 years of age. Fel
at age 14. |
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Identification picture of Fel
at age 20. |
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Picture of Villa Johanna in
1940, in Keerbergen on street parallel to the main street (where Villa
Felicie is). This house was totally designed by Fel's mother. Area name is
Piervenshoek. B/C have a picture of a sign with this name on it; Burt
attempted to get a current picture of this house in '98, but house has
changed significantly and almost invisible because of foliage. |
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Same as above. |
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Same as above, with Fel's
mother in front. |
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At Villa Johanna, Fel's
mother, grandmother and Fel; 1946. |
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At Villa Johanna, with fiance
Burt Chabot, Fel's mother and grandmother; 1946. |
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Fel's grandmother in 1946. |
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Fel's grandmother in 1946. |
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Fel's grandmother, in
Keerbergen, Belgium, in front of Uncle Louis's duplex, about 1954.
These twin houses were called Zonnestraal and Maneschijn. and are located on the main street a little closer to Felicie than
Joanna is, but on the other side of the street, and are close to the end of the
street Johanna is on, as that street curves to join the main street. |
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Fel's grandmother, same as above, in front of well. |
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Fel's mother in Brussels,
about 1954. |
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In Lourdes, France, with tour
friends; Fel's mother is on the far right. About 1960. |
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Fel's grandmother's funeral
card; born March 28, 1862 and died December 30, 1956. |
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Uncle Louis; taken about
1925. |
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Fel's grandmother about 1955. |
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Fel's mother; taken about
1954. |
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Fel's passport photo, 1949. |
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Picture of Fel, 1950. |
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Uncle Edmond in judge's
robes, about 1950. |
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