Aunty Phyllis Hon

Aunty Phyllis (Phyllis Gertrude Hon, 1934-1985). Aunty was a feisty redhead who was cutthroat, like her siblings, at playing games, and delighted in killing her nieces and nephews at jacks, cribbage, and monopoly, to mention a few games. Born in Minnesota, she went with her family during WWII to Michigan and grew up in Grand Rapids and Detroit, Michigan. She was 20 years younger than her oldest sister, Frances, and 10 years younger than her other sister, Rosalia (my mom) and just a bit older than her eldest nephew, Donny Hipp.

Aunty entered the Adrian (Mich.) Dominican convent on June 27, 1953, and took her final vows on Dec. 30, 1958 as Sr. Rosalia Marie Hon, O.P. (Order of Preachers, the Dominicans). My Mom told me that Aunty told her date the night before their high school prom that she was going to enter the convent after high school and he immediately dumped her because he did not want to waste any more time on her. I bet that smarted. She and Sr. Therese DiCanio were dear convent friends, growing together in their faith, laughing a lot, working hard, they shared an apartment, and taught at the same schools for many years. Aunty taught business related classes, such as shorthand, stenography, and typing for many years in Catholic girls high schools in metro-Chicago, Illinois.

I remember her and Sr. Therese coming to visit us several times in Grayling during the very late 1960s and 1970s. One time they drove from Chicago in an un-air-conditioned car and brought a bucket of chicken. My mom threw it out. She hated fried chicken and figured it had rotted in the bucket.  Another time we raised the flag-see picture below. On one occasion in the 1970s Aunty curled her hair at night in big curlers. I thought what is the point if you put it all under the habit? Her bangs stuck out a bit. At that point the nuns were wearing modest dresses and only a shoulder-length habit. Later, they got rid of the headgear. Whenever she came up to visit she would help Mom sew dresses from patterns. Aunty was an excellent seamstress. She had a sewing machine and so did Mom. She'd carefully adjust all the patterns and materials to get the best fitting dress maximizing the best use of the material. Once she sewed over her end of her finger by accident and it was still bandaged when she visited us, I think she had to have stitches. Most of Mom's 1970s dresses were made by Aunty from Butterick patterns. Aunty also sewed a lot of her own clothes, skirts, pants, tops, and jackets. The first and only time we flew round trip as a family in the very late 1970s was to Chicago to see Aunty. I'm not sure why we fly that time, instead of driving, but we did. Maybe it was because there was no place to park the car. I think we slept on the floor of their apartment. Mom was steamed because all the film negatives were lost in the mail, so we didn't have any photographs. I know we went to all the museums and a planetarium on that trip. [Sr. Therese is still alive in Illinois. What a lovely lady! She's family. She and Mom wrote for decades, so now I send her a note periodically.]

When Aunty knew she was dying, she visited all of her siblings before she went to the motherhouse for medical care. Sr. Therese went with her. Aunty died there and is buried in the circle of graves at the mother house in Adrian. The funeral mass celebrating her life was wonderful. Nuns who had known her and worked with her or taken vows with her came from far and wide to support us.

Here are some pictures from various stages of her life:

1936 standing Uncle Carl in the hated knickers, Uncle Paul, my Mom (Rosalia Jane Hon Matyn),

sitting Uncle Ed holding Aunty Phyllis who was then 2 years old.

Aunty Phyllis, dog, my Mom, Uncle Carl, two dogs and Grandpa Hon (Carl Hon, Sr.) on a pile of hay, about 1939. This is the only tinted photograph of the pre-WWII era I found. I wonder why it is tinted and who tinted it. I also wonder what the dogs names were. My mom made simple dresses that tied over the shoulder for me and my sister, Alice, when we were little. There are a lot of pictures of us with our shoulders exposed just like Aunty's in this image. I'm thinking she and Aunty Phyllis were responsible for continuing that style.

Aunty in 1945, age 11, Mom's notes in green ink-notes "living in Grand Rapids"

in 1947, age 13

Grandma Hon with her gloves, Aunty as a postulant (meaning she recently entered the convent), and an unidentified postulant, at the motherhouse

This is Aunty in white habit, so she's hasn't made her final vows, with an unidentified woman in a fur coat. This is probably at the Adrian motherhouse between1953 and 1958. Sorry it is blurry.

Sr. Gregory Hon (Grandma Hon's sister), her niece Aunty Phyllis (Sr. Rosalia Marie in full habit) and Sr. Gregory's unidentified companion, late 1950s or early 1960s.

Sr. Therese, Aunty Phyllis and Alice Matyn raising the flag at 604 Michigan Avenue, Grayling, in 1969 in the backyard with laundry on the old clothesline. We have a home movie of this- it is hysterical.. Just as the flag hits the top of the pole, the wind comes up, habits and crucifixes go flying. You wonder if they will take flight. It's the ultimate patriotic Catholic American home movie.

Here is a very happy Aunty teaching, 1970. Blackboard, lectern, books-things have changed. She looks to me like she's  going to give a test any minute.

Close up 1970. I don't see any curls showing in this photo.