Louisette Texier | |
---|---|
Born | Arpine Hovanessian 18 February 1913 |
Died | 20 July 2021
La Romieu, France | (aged 108)
Nationality | French |
Occupation(s) | Resistant Racecar driver |
Louisette Texier, born Arpine Hovanessian ( Armenian: Արփինե Հովհաննիսեան; 18 February 1913 – 20 July 2021) was a French resistant and racecar driver. [1] She was one of the last remaining survivors of the Armenian genocide.
Hovanessian was born into an Armenian family in the Ottoman Empire. [2] Her father was assassinated in 1915 during the Armenian genocide and she was saved by her mother and placed in an orphanage in Istanbul. [2] The orphanage moved to Thessaloniki in 1922, and to Marseille in 1924. In 1928, she began attending the École Tebrotzassère in Le Raincy, where she was classmates with Mélinée Manouchian. [2] She was not reunited with her mother until adulthood. [3]
Texier left boarding school at the age of 15 "to become a dancer in Parisian cabarets and live without constraint". [3] She participated in the French Resistance during World War II, evidenced by her French Forces of the Interior card, and helped to hide a Jewish family. [2] In 1956, she opened a clothing store in Neuilly-sur-Seine. [2]
Texier was passionate about cars and motorsports. She partook in professional competitions from 1956 to 1964, such as the Monte Carlo Rally and the Tour de France Automobile. [4] [5] She ranked 2nd in the 1963 competition, driving a Jaguar Mark 2. She was selected for the "Daring Armenian Women" project, which covered distinguished women of Armenian origin. [6]
Texier died in La Romieu on 20 July 2021 at the age of 108. Her funeral was held at the Chapelle Saint-Gény de Lectoure . [7]
Louisette Texier | |
---|---|
Born | Arpine Hovanessian 18 February 1913 |
Died | 20 July 2021
La Romieu, France | (aged 108)
Nationality | French |
Occupation(s) | Resistant Racecar driver |
Louisette Texier, born Arpine Hovanessian ( Armenian: Արփինե Հովհաննիսեան; 18 February 1913 – 20 July 2021) was a French resistant and racecar driver. [1] She was one of the last remaining survivors of the Armenian genocide.
Hovanessian was born into an Armenian family in the Ottoman Empire. [2] Her father was assassinated in 1915 during the Armenian genocide and she was saved by her mother and placed in an orphanage in Istanbul. [2] The orphanage moved to Thessaloniki in 1922, and to Marseille in 1924. In 1928, she began attending the École Tebrotzassère in Le Raincy, where she was classmates with Mélinée Manouchian. [2] She was not reunited with her mother until adulthood. [3]
Texier left boarding school at the age of 15 "to become a dancer in Parisian cabarets and live without constraint". [3] She participated in the French Resistance during World War II, evidenced by her French Forces of the Interior card, and helped to hide a Jewish family. [2] In 1956, she opened a clothing store in Neuilly-sur-Seine. [2]
Texier was passionate about cars and motorsports. She partook in professional competitions from 1956 to 1964, such as the Monte Carlo Rally and the Tour de France Automobile. [4] [5] She ranked 2nd in the 1963 competition, driving a Jaguar Mark 2. She was selected for the "Daring Armenian Women" project, which covered distinguished women of Armenian origin. [6]
Texier died in La Romieu on 20 July 2021 at the age of 108. Her funeral was held at the Chapelle Saint-Gény de Lectoure . [7]