21 February 2024

Closure

I got an e-mail this morning from Charles-Henry's niece Muriel in Grenoble saying that cremation was scheduled for between 5 to 7 a.m. today in Arlington, Virginia. Rest in peace. I've heard some talk of a memorial service for C-H later in the spring.

Left to right, Charles-Henry, Walt, and me standing in front of the restaurant La Couronne in Rouen (Normandy) in 1999. La Couronne was the restaurant where Julia Child had her first meal ever in France; she was astonished how good it was. We didn't eat there the day this picture was taken, but Walt and I did eat there one time, 20 years ago.

11 comments:

  1. A part of him will always stay with me on my journey ahead...how lucky I feel to have had someone like Charles-Henry as a friend all those years!

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    1. Me too but he could be infuriating at times. He was very generous and funny. I will always remember him as an admirable personnage. I learned so much from him, and had quite a few good laughs.

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  2. Ken, do you think the memorial service would be in France, or in the U.S.?

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    1. Judy, I wrote you a response a few minutes ago, but it just vanished. So frustating. Anyway, it was a friend in Arlington VA who talked about the memorial service, so I think it would be over there. He lived there for 50 years and worked with a lot of people there, both anglophones and francophones. I doubt I'll be able to go.

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    2. Jim F., who has been commenting here, wrote to me today to say that if there is a memorial service it will be in northern Virginia. Jim and Charles-Henry knew each other for 50 years when they both lived and worked in the Washington DC area.

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  3. This photo is wonderful. Charles Henry looks happy to have two young friends. Lewis and I ate at la Couronne once because of Julia's experience. I had the sole just like Julia and it was still good. RIP Charles-Henry.

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    1. When did you have your meal at La Couronne, E.? Ours was, I think, in June 2003. We had salmon.

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  4. So many memories for you and Walt and for your readers. Thank you for taking us on this journey.
    BettyAnn

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    1. It's ironic that Charles-Henry and I met each other in the U.S. and not in France. We always spoke French together. He had gone to live in the U.S. in 1969; I had gone to France for the first time late in 1969. We didn't meet until 1983, we worked together for nearly five years, and we became fast friends in the 1980s and '90s. I miss him and always will. Walt and I spent a lot of time with him in Paris, San Francisco, and Saint-Aignan. He always invited us to stay with him in his Paris apartment. It was not a palace, but we enjoyed being there with him. We were among his five or six closest friends, I believe. He was among ours.

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    2. The friendship that you, Walt and CHM had was precious. Thanks for sharing some of your time together with us.

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  5. Mary in Oregon (previous)

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