Beez Nonnie? Pronounced (beez-nawnie), the name is a tradition in my Italian family. 'Bisnonna' is Great Grandmother in Italian. 'Bis' - the suffix meaning Great and 'Nonna' meaning Mother. Somewhere along the line 'Bis' becaume 'Beez' and 'Nonna' became 'Nonnie'. If I remember the story correctly, it started when one of my ancestors couldn't pronounce Nonna when he was little and it turned into Nonnie. So a Grandmother is Nonnie and her mother is Beez Nonnie. We call her husband, Albino, Nonno. Pronounced (nawn-oh). Nonno wasn't alive to have great-grandchildren so we never had to differentiate between two Nonno's. If I would have ever met him I'm not sure what I would of called him. Beez Nonno? Probably.
Life Mary Helen Da Rin Perette was born in 1914 in Joliet, Illinois. Her mother and father were both immagrants from Belluno, Vigo Cadore, Italy. She quit school after 8th grade. When she was a bit older she found work in Michigan cleaning a womans house. She worked and stayed with the woman. She then met Albino Da Rin Conte who was born in New York and had moved to Detroit to work. His parents were also immagrants from Belluno, Vigo Cadore, Italy. I never asked her if the families knew eachother in their homeland. The name Da Rin was taken by all those who lived in Belluno. When Marry and Albino's parents came over, they removed the Perette and Conte and shortened Da Rin to darin. Mary's father also americanized his name from Giovanni to John.
Lessons Learned "Don't poke your sister's bruises - it will give her cancer!" "You can't drink Coca-Cola while you are pregnant because it will eat your baby." "I did it 7 times." (Yes, she was referring to concieving her 7 children). While a few of the things she told me were nonsense- and I just laughed and agreed...there is still things to learn. Don't poke your sister - it's not nice! Take care of your body because a baby is precious. Okay the last one we see quite diferently on - but I can take the message she was trying to convey, even if I don't agree. Sex is for marriage and if you are going to do it- cenception is possible. Old time beliefs from a devout Catholic woman are a little out dated, but I don't think they should be forgotten. Everything she said she believed and everything she said she did. That is where the real lesson comes in.
A Good Woman She was good. So good. Everything she did was an act of kindness and she was always looking out for the well being of her family. "I drank some wine one time" she had told me, "I remember laughing and then I started crying because who was going to take care of my babies if I never stopped feeling like this?" She was always cared more about being the best mother, wife, and person she could be. In a day of wide-spread self indulgance, I think it is a trait to remember.
'Til Her Last Day Beez Nonnie lived to be 97 years old. And she was sharp as a tack. It upset me towards the end of her life, to see her wanting to keep house and do the things she used to that her body would no longer allow. But when she finally went - peaceful in her sleep - she left a legacy in my heart that I don't even think she realized. I strive to be as good hearted and as beautiful inside as she was.
What lessons have you learned from your elders? Have any inspired you in this way?
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