This week the theme is Valentine, most likely Valentines
Day, or a Valentine Card. I will tell
you about my husband’s aunt, Valentine Glessoff.
When I first met my husband’s aunt, she was introduced as
Aunt Dee Dee or Aunt Val. It was several
years later that I found out that her real name was Valentine. I always wondered maybe she was born on
Valentines day and that was why she was named Valentine, but no she was born in
June of 1907. She was born to Ivan Glessoff/Glassoff and Alexandria
Konacova/Conacova both born in Russia and came to the United States in
1897. The first daughter was given a
Russian name at birth, Glafira (changed to Florence) and Valentine was the
second daughter and Valentine in Russian is Валентина. This name was popular in Russia and was used by both men and
women. The first Russian women astronaut
was named Valentine.
Aunt Val (Valentine) was a wonderful woman. She loved fashion, music and dancing. She used to go to the Roseland Ballroom in
New York City before and after she married, dancing all the 1920’s and 1930’s
dances. One dance I always loved
watching her dance was the Peabody. Valentine married Alfred (Freddy) Zito in
December of 1929.
Freddy Zito and Valentine Glessoff
Wedding Day December 29, 1929
They were great
together, when I met them they had a 14-year-old daughter and loved to have
family over all the time. It was the
noisiest house with a lot of laughter and good Italian cooking.
Valentine worked in the Oyster Bay, New York town office for
many years and was very involved with the Republican party. Her husband died while dancing at a wedding
in September of 1969. Everyone said that
was the way he would have wanted it, they just loved to dance together. She continued to work until her late
60’s. Her daughter married and had 2
sons and Valentine was the best grandmother ever to those boys.
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