Canavan Family Reunion 2021
My operating definition of the extended Canavan family was and is quite simple. You are part of the extended Canavan Family if you are a descendant of Anthony Canavan and his wife Catherine Kirby or their son, Anthony Canavan, Sr. You are also included if anyone in your extended family once married a Canavan descendant. Being in both categories myself, the definition seems a suitable one. The definition of the extended Canavan Family might seem large to some, but it feels just right to me.
With these organizing principles in mind for the website, it didn’t take long after its creation for interest to build in the possibility of holding an in-person Canavan-based reunion once the ravages of the COVID-19 virus abated. And indeed, in spite of the residual anxiety arising from the virus’s lingering Delta variant strain, the Canavan Family Reunion in Chicago in 2021 attracted over 80 people to its events. By all accounts it was a smashing success.
[French and English subtitles are available by clicking on the CC (Closed Captions/Subtitles) button in the lower right corner of the video.]
Editor’s Note: The video is the complete talk given at the Canavan Family Reunion dinner on September 25, 2021. Note the blue dots on the bottom and the icon of parallel bars in the lower right corner of the video. Clicking on any of these reveals the chapter headings of the 23-minute video and that let’s you jump to any part of the video that you may have a particular interest in.
