Celestine Favrot Arndt died at her home in Encino, California, on Saturday, July 21st, surrounded by her beloved family. She was 77. Ms. Arndt was born August 3rd, 1940 in Houston, Texas, to Laurence H. Favrot, a businessman and philanthropist, and Johanna de Kanter Favrot, a devoted mother and supporter of historic preservation. She attended St. John’s School in Houston, which she loved, and Brillantmont
1969 - 1994 It seemed to me that Aunt Cely always made good choices. They may have been impetuous or even ill-advised, but her choices always reflected her integrity and her commitment to causes larger than herself, including her large, extended family. So when I have to make a choice, I often ask myself, What Would Cely Do? WWCD? *When you notice someone feeling
1969 - 1994 WHEN I RECENTLY WAS WITH CELY ONE OF HER SONS ASKED ME “UNCLE LARRY, TELL ME SOME OF THE EARLY MEMORIES YOU HAVE OF MY MOM”. I THOUGHT AND REALIZED THAT, OTHER THAN A CLOSELY KNIT FAMILY THAT DID MANY MANY THINGS TOGETHER, I HAD NO MEMORIES THAT IMMEDIATELY POPPED INTO MY HEAD. CELY WAS IN THE CLASS AHEAD OF ME
1994 - 2018 Seven visits with Cely are all I have to remember my mysterious cousin by. Mysterious, because for the two visits my family made to River Oaks in Houston, Cely wasn't home. Uncle Larry was the oldest in his family and my Mom, was the youngest. Aside from their age difference we lived in Delaware and rarely visited. I first laid eyes
1994 - 2018 I have two distinct sets of memories about Aunt Cely - growing up, I thought of her as one of the most adventurous and fearless women I knew, raising her four children in far flung places and effortlessly crossing oceans by boat and plane to join us in Jalmolonga and San Diego. As I grew older, and having spent a high
1994 - 2018 We had a lot of visitors at my home growing up. Most would come for a week or so, some stayed for months. We had more than enough space, and we loved the company. My mom would explain to me that Aunt Cely was coming for a night, maybe two, while on her way to someplace else. “Why can’t Aunt Cely
1994 - 2018 I am missing my Aunt Cely today. You see, my family has a tradition about goodbyes. It’s a whole ritualized to-do called “The Wave.” Whenever we all got together at Granny’s hacienda in Mexico, guests would eventually need to leave to go back to their respective lives. Because there were always guests coming and going, people rarely left en masse, but
1969 - 1994 Skiing in Colorado
1994 – 2018 1962 to present, Washington, DC mainly Over all the years I knew her, Celestine remained disarmingly beautiful and joyful. She irradiated the same exuberance for life and genuine interest in others that characterized her mother, my Aunt Netty. Both, possessed this crazy, offbeat joy that was so intoxicating it could draw you in and send you off
1994 - 2018 In all technical sense of a family tree, Cely was the ‘Step-Grandma’ to us rambunctious Fox grandkids. I feel it’s incredibly necessary to add however, that this ‘step’ termonalogy is false. Cely was most definitely our third grandma. Most everyone only gets two grandmas, but we were blessed beyond measure with three. I never knew a visit to Grandpa’s without a
