Dora and Zigmunta, Later

I introduced my Mom's maternal Aunt, Dora, and my Mom's maternal Grandmother, Zigmunta, in an early post.

After the Soviets occupied Lithuania in 1944, Dora and Zigmunta continued to live in Jadzė's and Jake's house.

Zigmunta and Dora loved little dogs. Dora wrote the dog's name, "Pupsikas" (pronounced "Poop-sick-us") on the back of this photo. "Pupsikas" is a Lithuanian diminutive for "Pupa," a word that means "little bean." It's an affectionate term.

My Mom, for example, has called me "Pupulė" for much of my life.

We've raised two dogs,  Pupa and Poppy, who had similar names. I once told a friend that my dog's name means "little bean" in Lithuanian. He responded, "In English, it just means 'shit'."

Kaunas, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, August 10, 1957. Dora sits with her Mother, Zigmunta, and the Chihuahua / Miniature Pinscher dog, Pupsikas.

She wasn't left behind; she stayed behind.

My Mom's maternal Aunt, Dora, did not flee Lithuania when my Mom and her Father left in 1944. We are not sure why Dora stayed behind.

Dora remained in Kaunas. She lived in the house that Jake and Jadzė had built in the early 1930s. Dora's Husband, her Mother, Zigmunta, and a series of Chihuahuas and Miniature Pinschers shared the home with her. Dora lived into her nineties, and so did Zigmunta.

You may recognize these steps from an earlier post:

Kaunas, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1956. Dora sits with her doggie, "Pupkė," on the front steps. My Mom's maternal Grandmother, Zigmunta, rests in the back, on the bench.

Click on the "Dora" tag below to get a better picture of her story.