Basya Chaika's father Ber (Boris) Pan with his sister Genya Pan

My father, Ber (Boris) Pan with his sister Genya Pan. The photo was made in 1915 in Kiev. The first time I saw a taleth and a tefillin they had my father's father's name on them. His name was Aaron Pan. He came from the town of Kazatin, Kiev region. The family of grandfather Aaron was very poor, I never knew what he did, but his lifestyle was very Orthodox Jewish. He and his wife - my grandmother Hannah - kept this lifestyle till they died. Aaron and Hannah had three sons: the eldest - my father Ber (later - Boris), Yakov and Nyuma. They also had daughter Genya, who died in 1917 in childbirth. My father Ber, being the eldest son of Aaron and Hanna, had the hardest time making his way into the world. His constant duties to take care of the younger ones took a lot of his time. In order to pay for his education, he tutored a lot of children in the Jewish families of Kiev. He knew Hebrew well. The Revolution of 1917 changed little in his life, but made possible his marriage with Rachel Gorenstein, my mother, 1918, who was very rich before the Revolution. They were a very good couple. In love and peace they lived together until they were in evacuation in the Urals. It was New Year's Eve, December 31, 1942, and my father went out to cut wood so my mother wouldn't be cold. They brought him back dead the following morning.