Ralya and her friend Lior Singer, June 2011

Ralya Yaniv, my mother, was born Ralya Pagirsky on 29 January 1920 in Kaunas (Kovno), then the provisional capital of Lithuania. Both her parents were natives of Jonava (Yanova), a small stetl located 32 km northeast of Kaunas (see map). She spent her formative years in France and in 1934 immigrated to Palestine with her parents. She lived in Tel Aviv until her death on 20 March 2012.

With her mother, Ella Pagisrky, in Juan-les-Pins, 1931

France, summer 1932

Below are some of my favorite photos of my mother during various stages of her life.

With her mother in France, mid-1920s

In Palanga, Lithuania, with her parents, 1920s

Tel Aviv, 1939. Ralya is first on the right.

Marriage to Benjamin Linewski, 1941

The young family in a Tel Aviv cafe, 1946. Note the hand-knitted baby clothes.

The Linewski family, 1947

Three generations, 1950s

The two of us

In Nahariya

On vacation in Shavei Zion

Italy, 1955

At home in Tel Aviv

Ralya was handy with the knitting needles from an early age. She knitted and crocheted many of our clothes for decades while holding down full-time office jobs. But knitting is only one of her assorted accomplishments. She was a competition-level bridge player and a world-class stamp collector. The photo below shows a small part of her sports stamp collection, which was exhibited in 1961.

Stamp exhibition, 1961

Ralya began making dolls in 2003, at the tender age of 83. At first she used published patterns but soon abandoned them to allow free scope for her imagination and creativity. Although she made many hundreds of dolls, no two were ever exactly alike. Even the most popular characters underwent variations in color, materials, and accessories. As a result, Ralya’s dolls were prized by collectors.

   

Copyright © 2009–2012 Daniella Thompson. All rights reserved.