Therese (Emard) Thompson and Raymonde Nelson Correspondence

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: OGLMC-1499

Scope and Contents

The Therese (Emard) Thompson and Raymonde Nelson Correspondence, 1947 and 1961-1980, are mostly letters written by Raymonde to Therese with some by Therese to Raymonde. In the 1940s the letters were written to all of the Emard children while Raymonde was in Europe visiting her son. Later, the letters are generally about each of their lives, the people in them and events that affected them such as children, their husbands, the gas shortage, Vietnam, and moving to new places. These letters span a large time period so the letters change as the Thompsons move to Maryland, the children grow up, Raymonde grows older, her husband dies, and she moves to California. This collection also contains obituaries and biographical information, in addition to the correspondence.

Dates

created: 1947, 1961-1981
Other: Date acquired: 03/22/2005

Creator

Nelson, Raymonde (Person)
Thompson, Therese (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Biographical or Historical Information

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Laura (Thompson) Munski is the daughter of Therese and George Thompson. The mother of Therese, Ida May Emard, died in 1935, when Therese was very young. Her father, Pierre Emard, was exposed to poisonous gas in World War I and, therefore, had recurrent health problems that kept him in the hospital much of the time. For this reason, Therese and four of her seven siblings were put in the care of a governess. The two youngest children were raised by aunts and uncles. Though several governesses came and went throughout the years, Raymonde Nelson stayed the longest and the children became very fond of her. Some of the youngest children went so far as to call her mom. Therese was the fifth of eight children, born March 1, 1930. She was five years old when her mother died. She married George Thompson in 1951, who worked as a mathematician at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland. She had three children, George, Rayanne, and Laura. Therese received an Associate of Arts degree from Harford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland. She died May 19, 2006 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Raymonde Nelson was born in Paris, France on May 17, 1899. She married Oscar Arneberg on April 28, 1919 in France and they had two children, John and Marge. She became a governess to the Emard children after their mother died. She was the Emard’s Governess until all the children turned 18. She later married Oscar Nelson and lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota until his death in November, 1973. She then moved to California to be close to her son, John. She died in Victorville, California, on February 13, 1981.

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