Irene and Betsy
Huguet will meet
in March after
43 years apart

WHILE MOST people are
still celebrating the
Chirstmas season and look-
ing forward io the new
year, one North Vancouver
woman is looking forward
to receiving what will likely
be one of the best
Christmas presents she will
ever get: a reunion with her
eldest sister.

By Surj Rattan
News Reporter

Irene Huguet, 48, has not seen
her sisier Betsy in 43 years.

The two siblings will meet again
in March when Huguei travels to
Wisbech, Cambridgeshire in
England to visit Betsy.

So why has it taken the two
sisters 43 years to get together?

‘*Life’s circumstances kept us
apart, like bad health on the part
of my mother and myself and fi-
nances,"’ said Huguet. ‘“‘But we’ve
kept in touch all this time.”’

In one sense, the tables have
turned on the two sisters. While
Huguet was born in England, her
sister Betsy, who will turn 61 in
February, was born in Vancouver.

**My mom was married here
and had a baby here and that was
Betsy. Then my parents moved to
England and 1 was born in Ely,”
said Huguet. ‘‘When we came
back to Canada, my sister Betsy
was engaged to be married in
England so she wouldn't leave and
she’s still married to the exact

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

IRENE HUGUET, of North Vancouver, will travel to England in March to be finally reunited with her sister after 43 years.

same man."’

“It wasn’! appropriate for me
to visit (Betsy) after my mother’s
death.”’

Asked if she and Betsy were
close as children, Huguet replies:

“I was only five years old so we
were as close as a five-year-old
could get. This is an incredible
phenomenon, actually, to be able
to be reunited with my sister. That

is very special.’’

Huguet has lived in North Van-
couver since 1976.

She adds that Betsy hopes to
visit her in North Vancouver
soon.

While Huguet will only spend
five days visiting her sister, she
also plans to travel to Egypt and
Israel before finally going to
England.

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