Both William and Germaine loved family. After their wedding in 1944 they lived in New York City, where two daughters, Lissel and Doris, were born. They enjoyed the company of a small group of Haitians who lived in Manhattan. In 1948 they decided to move back to Haiti and chose to settle in Bois Verna, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. In Haiti they were surrounded by the extended family of Cauvins and Cabèches. Germaine's family consisted of her mother, Maman Vava, her sisters and brother, Tante Françoise, Tante Lina, Tante Paupau, Tante Cicie and Papa René. William's family consisted of his sisters, Tante Amalia, Tante Elda and Tante Bé. Of course there were numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws, etc.

William worked as an accountant, having studied in Paris, France. He was the Comptroller for an Italian company based in Haiti. They witnessed the Exposition internationale du Bicentenaire de Port-au-Prince, a world's fair held in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1949 to mark 200 years since Port-au-Prince's foundation, the overthrow of Dumarsais Estimé in 1950 by General Paul Magloire, etc.

Life was good for the Vilaire-Cabèche family. The daughters attended a small private school run by the Dougé sisters in Bois Verna, and the family grew with the births of William Jr. and Jessie. However, when the Italian company closed in Port-au-Prince, William was unable to find appropriate work so he returned to the United States and began working as a taxi driver in order to support his family in Haiti. The family reunited in June 1953 and settled first in Brooklyn, NY, then moved into an apartment in the Bronx where they lived until 1970.

Germaine was the "alma de casa" (the soul of the house) all those years. She cooked wonderful Haitian meals and managed her household with love and cheerfulness. She always had some type of diversion for her family. Every year she took the children to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, then would rush back home to cook a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. There was always something to do. She arranged Sunday picnics in Prospect Park, visits to the Bronx Zoo, the Bronx Botanical Gardens, Orchard Beach and Rockaway Beach. The family attended the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall and the Rodeo in Madison Square Garden. While William worked and the children attended school she would spend her free time reading novels, listening to soap operas on the radio (her favorite was Helen Trent)—later watching them on TV—or going to the Tuesday matinées at the Deluxe or Loews theatre on Tremont Avenue.

She was happy that William and she were able to send all their children to a private Roman Catholic School and gratified to have her children listed on the Honor Roll. She basked in their professional achievements and was proud of her children: Lissel worked at American Airlines; Doris was a nurse at Mount Sinai, having graduated with honors from Columbia University; William worked at CBS and had excelled in sports at Cardinal Hayes High School and Manhattan College; and Jessie attended Cardinal Spellman High School and New York University.

During the 70s and 80s she suffered many emotional upheavals in her life starting with the deaths of her dearly loved husband, William, and her mother, Maman Vava. The tragic death of her daughter Doris was a devastating blow and touched her profoundly. However, her spiritual strength throughout all these experiences was an example to all of us.

She loved life to the fullest and was blessed with wonderful grandchildren whom she deeply loved: Doris’s children, Mark and Simone Foster; Jessie’s children, Sam and Alex Mejias; and William Jr.’s children, Del and Dion Cabèche, At the time of Germaine’s death she had four great-grandchildren, Thierry and Claire Garcon, and Belen and Maisy Mejias.

For Germaine, it was a wonderful and fruitful life.

Both Francois and Sylvia were from prominent Haitian political families. Francois, who was a well-respected lawyer, was assassinated when Germaine was 5 years old. Her mother raised her six children as a single mother. Germaine's strength and sense of humor were inherited from her mother, while she inherited the fierce independence of the Cauvins.

Germaine loved to read and was influenced by the wonderful world that she experienced through books. It was reading that fueled her desire to travel and see the world. One of her favorite books was "La Vie Recommence" by Henry Bordeaux in which he tells the story of two sisters: Marie and Lissel. She loved the latter name so much that she vowed to call her first daughter Lissel and she did just that!

Germaine enjoyed sports and loved riding horses and swimming in "La Plaine", the sugarcane plantation inherited from her maternal grandmother, Aimee Daumec. She spent many happy summers there enjoying the sun, bathing in Source Zabeth, and eating the wonderful cooking of Haiti. She loved singing and was in the school choir. She played on the school's volleyball team.  

 

Born Germaine Cauvin, on April 25, 1913.

Germaine was the fourth of six children of Sylvia Rousseau and Francois Cauvin. She was preceded in birth by her sisters Francoise and Lina, and her brother Rene. She had two younger sisters, Paulette and Lucie.

Germaine grew up on Rue Dr. Aubry in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.  She attended St. Rose de Lima, Externat school. She and her family were devout Catholics and the family attended mass regularly at Cathedral, the church across the street from their house.