Carmelia R. Bazin

On Sunday, Oct. 22, 201,7 with her husband by her side, Carmelia R. Bazin, age 81, of Warwick, passed away peacefully at the Highland Rehabilitative and Nursing Center in Middletown.
Carmelia was born on Aug. 31, 1936, in Cuba to Natalia Ferales and Tancrede Villard-Pierre.
In 1959, Carmelia met Coast Guard Lt. Paul F. Bazin, the man that she would spend the next 58 years married to. They had a beautiful life in Haiti.
In 1970, after a failed military coup against President Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier in Haiti, Carmelia and her small three children, along with many other families were forced to flee Haiti. She evaded capture on numerous occasions and was given shelter by various friends on the island. Ultimately, she and the children were given asylum at the Guatemalan Embassy where she was granted political asylum in the United States where she joined her husband. They eventually settled in the Bronx, where she began their new life and had another son.
After settling her family in the Bronx, Carmelia worked as a beautician where she loved doing hair and making her clients look beautiful. She eventually established her own beauty salon at home to be closer to her children.
A wife, a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother and so much more, Carmelia dedicated her life to her family. She encouraged and nourished them with her love, faith and incredible stories of her days in Cuba, Haiti and her many travels throughout the world. She spoke five languages, and loved to document her travel through photography.
She is survived by her husband Paul of Warwick; her four sons: Pierre R. Bazin, Karl H. Bazin, Paul Bazin (Atina) and Burt Bazin (Venas); five grandchildren: Jessalynna Bazin, Noelle Bazin, Nina Bazin, Hana Bazin and Hudson Bazin; great-grandchild Cassia Bazin-Lawrie; her brother, Rafael Villard-Pierre of the Bronx, five sisters and two brothers in Cuba; and a host of nieces, nephews and other relatives.
Visitation will be on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 17 Oakland Ave., Warwick. Funeral service will follow at 3 p.m.
For further information, directions or to send online condolences, see www.lsvpmemorialhome.com.