Connecting to my people with my name: Penelope Jupiter Zela

My Grandfather Peter Zelapagos was born of Lithuanian immigrant parents in Chicago. They experienced teasing and discrimination for decades due to their name. My dad eventually decided to change the family name to Krey and I was named Penelope Krey at birth.

Grandfather Zelapagos served in the US army during the second world war. While parachuting out of a fighter plane he was shot in the leg. My grandfather spent two days in the Sicilian countryside before receiving medical care. Once it healed, his right leg was two inches shorter and he thereafter walked with a limp.

I knew my grandfather as a generous man who took me and my four brothers to Disneyland every summer when we visited him. He often bought us new shoes and told us that when he was a boy he did not have shoes. My grandfather loved to tell jokes and often had a mischievous grin. He was a loyal man and worked for a lock smith company for 50 years. He was exceedingly devoted to my grandmother Lilian and made sure she had the best of everything. Even after his battle with bone marrow cancer began he continued to get up and go to work. My Grandfather was a writer and loved to put his thoughts to paper. He encouraged us to think for ourselves and not get caught up in other people’s ideologies.

I recently decided to change my name to Zela; short for Zelapagos. I feel connected to my Lithuanian family with the root of our ancestral name. I hope that you will also like my name! I am proud to be of Lithuanian people.

#newname #ancestorpride #namechange #Kabalarian #grandfatherlove #honorancestors