GLADYS BOGAT DE SELYS LONGCHAMPS's Obituary
Gladys Bogat de Sélys Longchamps, 88 years old, of Miami, FL, passed away on Tuesday August 29, 2017.
She grew up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, she graduated from Barnard College in New York City. She had a career as a diplomat in Paris and in Miami. She was first married in Paris to Michel Monnier and had a daughter Sybille Monnier. Later, she married the Barron Walter de Sélys Longchamps and lived happily in Belgium with him for 20 years until she was widowed and moved back to Miami, Florida in 1992.
She is survived by her grand-daughter Laura Monnier-Bogat, her brother Leonard Bogat, her nieces, nephews, and cousins.
A funeral mass will be held at 2 PM on Thursday September 21st at Our Lady Of Lourdes, Catholic Church, located at 11291 SW 142nd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33186. In lieu of flowers, the family will appreciate donations towards the reforestation of Haiti to http://haitireforest.org
Eulogy by Elissa Bogat Cortesano (niece)
We are here to say goodbye to, pay our respects to, and celebrate the life of a great lady who was my Aunt. Many of you knew her as Gladys Bogat, later as Gladys Monnier and ultimately as La Baronne Gladys de Selys Longchamps. To me she was always Tante Gladys, and through it all she was larger than life. As I thought of what I would try to say today it seemed so hard and as though I couldn't even string together the words to form a sentence, and then I realized why...I am incredulous that she is gone. She always seemed invincible to me.
As a little girl Tante Gladys seemed like a movie star, a fashion model, a celebrity right off the pages of a magazine. She never lacked for attention and whenever she walked into a room it seemed as though all eyes were on her. She was fascinating to the young impressionable girl I was then, and she remained so to the woman I am today.
She stayed at our house in Haiti for weeks at a time all throughout my childhood. She would fly in from Paris, Miami or Brussels wearing the latest styles, hair perfectly coiffed and face made up, full of witty conversation and exuding a real zest for life. She would bring me outrageous presents, much to my parents' dismay, among which were my very first pair of high heels ( at age 8) which were sparkling silver no less...
One of my favorite memories of that time is of watching her put on her make up, do her hair and choose her outfit for some fancy outing. She was never a day person. Her late husband often referred to her as " his belle de nuit" She always slept late with a silk eye mask on, and she took her morning coffee on a tray in bed. All of this only added to her sense of glamour. Even in recent months at a rehab hospital she explained to the physical therapy staff that she could not possibly do physical therapy at that hour of the morning and that they should reschedule her sessions for the afternoon.
She was a great conversationalist. I think part of what kept her so young, beyond how beautiful she remained, was how curious, interested and informed she was about so many different subjects. Sometimes it would be hard to get a word in, but one tended not to mind because her conversation was so interesting.
Her group of friends in her later years were at least twenty years younger than she was and this is another testament to how youthful and vibrant she remained throughout her life. She taught me a tremendous amount about so many things. She had knowledge to share about a wide range of subjects from beauty tips, to history, to politics, to classical music, to our family tree, to spiritualism and so much more. And of-course no one else taught me more about speaking French correctly and paying attention to etiquette than my Tante Gladys.
She lived a full life. She recreated for me, in countless conversations filled with fascinating stories, her exciting college years at Barnard, her fabulous twenties in Paris with the Monniers during Sybille's early years, then her life as a Diplomat in Paris and Miami, and of course her years with Walter, her Baron, whom I think in many ways gave her the life she always thought she was made for. They spent summers hosting friends and family at the De Selys Longchamps Chateau d'Halloy, and the rest of the year they hosted' countless dinners at their home in Bruxelles for a fascinating mix of diplomats, journalists, politicians, writers and other interesting people. When she married Walter and gained the title of Baroness, I think those of us who knew and loved her found it quite fitting...and we were thrilled that she had married such a lovely person with a terrific dry humor and a brilliant mind.
Gladys adapted to change and managed to move elegantly through the difficulties in her life without spending too much time feeling sorry for herself, she trusted in God and relied on her strong faith. She was widowed and suffered the loss of her only daughter. Then, she became a mother again rather late in life when Sybille left
her a granddaughter to raise. To be honest, Gladys had never been the most maternal person in the world, however, she adopted Laura without hesitation and she did the best she could with her second chance at motherhood. She can and should be very proud of the young woman Laura is today, and of the new life that she is building, we all are. The very best way I know how to honor her memory is to take good care of Laura and to always make sure she's okay, and I will do that.
I will miss my aunt very much, but I am comforted by the thought of her surrounded by so many of our loved ones in heaven.
I think it's only fitting that my cousin Xaviere and I are here together saying our final goodbyes to our Tante Gladys. I always thought that Xaviere was her favorite niece, and I've learned that Xaviere thought the same of me. Apparently she told each of us about all the wonderful qualities that the other had. So, we are both blessed to have been her favorite nieces.
Now Xaviere will say a few words in French ... which will make Tante Gladys very happy as she absolutely preferred the language of Molière.
Eulogy by Xaviere Metzeler de Telleria (niece)
Je suis Xaviere , la fille de Nagelah qui était la sœur de Glagla. Je n ai pas l intention de faire un discours (loin de la) mais je voulais profiter pour vous remercier pour votre présence aujourd'hui et pour tout le support moral, émotionnel que nous avons reçu Elissa, Laura, moi et toute la famille avant et après la mort de Tante Gladys.
Tous ceux qui ont connu GLAGLA savent très bien que c était une personne remplie de joie, de vie, de glamour, une femme très cultivée, très intelligente, intéressante, raffinée, une psychologue avec des conseils si précieux, dotée d un fort character.
Je sais et je sens qu' elle est parmi nous aujourd'hui dans cette église et elle est heureuse de savoir qu elle est toujours dans nos pensées et que Laura sa petite-fille est heureuse avec sa nouvelle vie et son nouvel amour.
Ce sera difficile et douloureux de savoir qu elle n est plus la mais je sais qu elle est contente là-haut avec sa mère Jeanne Woel, son père Fortune Bogat, ses frères Lesly et Serge, Bogat, Émile Hakime , sa sœur Nagelah Hakime, sa fille Sybille Monnier, son neveu Gregory Bogat, son Baron et tous ces amis qui sont partis avant elle.
Merci encore et je ne peux que dire : "On t aime et on ne t oubliera jamais Baronne De Selys Longchamps! "
What’s your fondest memory of GLADYS?
What’s a lesson you learned from GLADYS?
Share a story where GLADYS's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with GLADYS you’ll never forget.
How did GLADYS make you smile?
