Livia Diaconescu and her son, Gabriel Diaconescu

This photo was taken in Poiana Tapului, in the summer. I was on vacation with my boy Gabriel Diaconescu and my husband, Ioan Diaconescu around 1962. The one who took the picture was my husband. When Gabriel became older, we went on vacations to the mountains. Our boy was born in 1955, in Bucharest. My husband gave him the name of Gabriel and my mother named him Paul, after my grandmother Perla. In 1959, we moved back to Bucharest. I worked for a little while at the lab of the Vasile Roaita Hospital, then I applied for another job and, after passing an examination, I was employed at the Food Research Institute. I stayed there until 1979, when the Sugar section was closed and a new institute for the cultivation and processing of the sugar beet was founded. I worked for them till 1st January 1986, when I retired. Gabriel was a good boy. He went to school in the Floreasca quarter, where we lived. Then he went to the D. Cantemir High School, which was a good high school. Though he enjoyed reading all sorts of books, he was inclined towards science. He went to the Thermal Engines Department of the Faculty of Mechanics, at the Polytechnic. After his graduation, he was employed at the National Institute of Thermal Engines. He worked there until 1987, when he emigrated to Israel. Gabriel didn't receive any special religious education; we let him choose his religion at an adult age. He probably had an inclination towards Judaism, as he left for Israel, where he stayed for seven years. He now lives with his family in Montreal. He moved to Canada in 1994 to seize a new career opportunity. He keeps both Jewish and Christian holidays. They celebrate Christmas too - it's a happy holiday, they adorn the tree and buy presents. They even celebrate Halloween.