Edīte (Grava) Zariņš
Born in Liepaja, Latvija, on August 9th, 1928, Edīte (Grava) Zariņš was the 5th of 7 children of Rūdolfs and Irma Grava, a devout Swedenborgian New Church family. With 3 similar aged cousins living nearby, there was never a lack of playmates in her childhood, nor interesting places to explore. Liepaja, a seaport on the Baltic Sea, had especially beautiful beaches to enjoy. During the summers, the older Grava children were often sent off to relatives’ farms to help with farm chores, returning in the late summer before school started, with lots of farm grown produce to help get the family get through the winter.
Their happy childhoods were brought to an end by the political machinations of Germany and Russia, when Latvija was treated like a pawn to be traded back and forth, and its citizens mistreated by both sides. Edīte’s three older brothers were forced into the army resisting the Russians. Edite’s parents, along with their 4 younger children, had to flee from Latvija for their lives, ending up in various displaced persons (DP) camps in Germany, and an area that is now the Czech Republic. Their final DP camp was in Hersbruck, Germany. The two Grava sisters were teenagers by then, and before the war ended, they too were required to go work in a factory that made mustard gas and cloaking gas for wartime efforts. Once the war was over, all of the DP girls working in that factory threw their hated uniforms into a deep bomb crater pit, and burned them.
Once the war ended, all of the DPs now had to figure out where to go next in their lives. Going back to Latvija was an unacceptable and impossible option, as the communists had since taken control, and many who did return to Latvija were executed. Various countries and organizations around the world were willing to sponsor the DPs, giving them passage and a job/training when they arrived in another country. In 1950, Edīte, a smart, good student, was sponsored by the Lutheran Welfare organization with an opportunity to go to the Sisters of St. Joseph’s School of Nursing, in Fargo, North Dakota, USA.
It is difficult to imagine a 22 year old young lady sailing off alone to the U.S. on a retrofitted US Army transport ship and then heading to North Dakota. Also imagine not really knowing the English language very well, nor anyone else that was attending this program. But fortunately, she made some lifelong friends there, as there were two other Latvian women in this program. She graduated as a registered nurse several years later.
In the meantime, her parents and other brothers had also emigrated from Germany. Three of her brothers were living in the USA, as were her parents, who were housed and working on a farm in Maryland. Her parents eventually settled in Baltimore, Maryland. After graduation from nursing school, Edīte lived with her parents in Baltimore for many years, helping them manage their lives and figuring out how to function in a new land, while she continued to work as a nurse in local Baltimore hospitals.
The Latvian immigrants around the world somehow figured out where the other Latvians were living, and many social events materialized, especially among the younger folks, helping them all find one another. Life moved forward, and many parties, ski trips, festivals and weddings ensued. It was through friends that Edīte met Viesturs Zariņš, a dashing Latvian fellow who happened to live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They first met when they were a bridesmaid and groomsman at their mutual dear friends’ wedding in 1955. We also suspect that some matchmaking was happening, as the bride, Viktorija Zušmanis, was Edite’s dear friend from nursing school. However, it took both Edīte & Viesturs a good while to figure out that they were meant to be a couple. They finally were married on Nov 12, 1966, on the farm where her parents first worked when they arrived in the USA, with these matchmaking friends finally witnessing the marriage. On his 100th birthday, Viesturs said that his only regret in life was not marrying his dear wife earlier….
So it came to be that Edīte crossed yet another border and began her life in Canada. Back in 1966, crossing the border to live in Canada was pretty simple – they drove up to the Canadian border, showed their marriage papers, popped open the trunk of the car, and that was about it!
First living in an apartment, they soon realized that they wanted a place of their own. They found their home in Scarborough, and it was the grand backyard that sold them on the property. They continued to improve that backyard every year, making it into an oasis of horticultural beauty, that even won various local gardening awards. Their garden was amazing. Everything they planted grew many times larger than anyone else could grow. We all agreed that they had fluorescent green thumbs! Their generosity and kindness was legendary, always sharing what they had with others, in many ways. We were allowed to use their beautiful home and backyard for various large family functions, such as showers, christenings, and rarely did we leave their home without an armful of gorgeous flowers and a basket of enormous homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers. Many of our gardens are still full of plants that Edite gave us. Edite became very involved in floral arranging through the Horticultural Society, eventually becoming a skilled judge. Her artistic floral arrangements have decorated many weddings, church services, Latvian social events, graduations, etc.
Edite was also a master seamstress, having learned these skills from her ever resourceful mother, who had to clothe 7 growing children. Edite personally made many, many wedding dresses for friends and family, and sewed much of her own wardrobe, often in shades of purple/mauve and light blue, her favorite colors.
Edite also baked the best abolu maizītes (apple flat bread) and biezpiena maizītes (cheese flat bread), as well as klinģeris, rupjmaize, and the thinnest, crunchiest piparkūkas on earth (which they rolled out ultrathin using a pasta machine!).
Edīte continued to work as a nurse, spending most of her career at the Scarborough Centenary Hospital, and eventually working as the head nurse on the General Surgery ward.
When Viesturs retired, they wanted to travel more, so she cut down on her work hours. They travelled a lot, visiting our farflung family members: Edīte’s sister Biruta & family in Australia, her brother Tedis & family in Germany, brothers Arturs & family in Cleveland, Ojars & family in Seattle, and Juris and her parents in Baltimore. Their home in Toronto became very full as well, as Viesturs’ elderly parents were allowed to leave Latvija back in the mid-1970’s, and came to live with them for the last years of their lives. Then Edite’s parents’ health also declined, and they left Baltimore in 1980 to come to Toronto to live with Edīte & Viesturs.
When Latvija regained its freedom in 1991, Edite and Viesturs were finally able to visit many more relatives, on both sides of their families. In traveling to Latvija, their suitcases were always filled with many presents for everyone whom they visited. Edite had created a detailed database of everyone’s birthdates, sizes and preferences. Packing for their overseas trips took many weeks of planning, and quite a number of suitcases.
For a while, they also shared a cottage with close friends, Māra & Jānis Zariņš (although not related) and enjoyed lots of sunny, peaceful days on Muldrew Lake, near Gravenhurst, ON. Viesturs, Jānis and Edites’ brother, Juris, loved to go fishing up there. They dutifully cleaned all of their catch, and presented Edite with the cleaned fish filets, which she would gladly cook up & serve for them. However, she did not like fish at all, and never ate the fish herself!
Edīte and Viesturs doted on their many nieces and nephews, as well as the children of their friends. Edīte was a godmother, and honorary grandmother to so many kids – and they all loved her back. She had boundless energy and always looked for the sunny side. We called her our “Energizer bunny” tante. A very positive person, she was unbelievably giving and kind to all. Their home in Scarborough saw just about every relative in our family visiting them there at some point, & their door was always open. They also were very generous to many organizations, such as the Vitolu Fonds, which provides financial support to deserving university students in Latvija. The two of them were also forever supporters of various Latvian organizations in Toronto, attending every one of the local Dzirksts choir koncerts, all of our children’s concerts & programs, Daugavas Vanagi, St Andrew’s Latvian church, the Toronto Latvian Centre, and the Toronto Latvian Pensioners Association.
Life became more difficult as the years progressed. Day to day tasks, as well as travel became more difficult. Edīte developed increasing memory problems, and Viesturs was always by her side, helping her cope. They adored each other, and supported each other throughout their lives. During the summer of 2022, Viesturs broke his hip and then his health went seriously downhill. They had to move to assisted living, and in 2023 on to the Kristus Darzs Latvian nursing home. Unfortunately, Viesturs suddenly left this world on Dec 21st, 2023. After that, Edīte’s health also began a steep spiral downward. She passed away peacefully in her sleep on Nov 7, 2024.
Edīte always wanted to help others, and it was sometimes difficult for her to accept help for herself, even when it was needed. This desire to help others was so deeply engrained in her sense of giving meaning to her life. Even during her last weeks while living up at Kristus Darzs, she would still ask me – how can I help you somehow? (Kā es varētu tev palīdzēt?) How does one answer that question? I would ask her for a smile, which she would gladly give me. Fortunately, reciting silly poems, and singing also gave her great pleasure, even in the last months of her life, and she knew all of the words to many songs.
She was the last of the original seven Grava children to pass away, which means, for all of us, that a huge chapter in our lives has now ended. She is greatly missed by all of us, but her flowers and plants will continue to bloom in our gardens, and our memories of her love for us all will bloom forever.