Ivona and Art Chaves

Gravestone where Art and Ivona are buried in Mt Hope Cemetery, Baker City.

On July 7, 2007 the date could be written as 07-07-07, and of course at 7 minutes and 7 seconds past 7 it can be written as 7:07:07 07-07-07 and many people think it can be a lucky day for them. On that day in my parish at the Cathedral in Baker City, Oregon, we buried Ivona Chaves who was Bishop Connolly’s cook and housekeeper for 15 years. Her husband Art took care of the bishop’s horses, and died in 1998. Among the many anecdotes I heard about Ivona, the most incredible one was what happened back in 1912, a few days before the Titanic sank. Her husband Art was of a Portuguese descent, and his family grew up in the Azores Islands. But back in 1912, Art’s mother and father got tickets to travel on the Titanic, the same trip that eventually sank on that infamous April date in 1912. But Art’s mother felt that she did not have enough clothes to travel with the likes of the Astors, Strausses, Molly Brown and so many other wealthy people. So just before they boarded the ship, they sold their tickets, and decided to wait for another less luxurious ship. We all know what happened with the Titanic, and the strange thing is that Mrs. Chaves was at that time pregnant with Art, who eventually was born, attended our St. Francis Academy and married Ivona, and had 6 children. We buried her on July 7, 2007, aged 94.