Obituary of Ara Bramanis

Ara R. Bramanis, 81, of Manchester,CT, passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by her family on Wednesday, December 21, 2022. Daughter of the late Arvids and Ludmila (Kalnins) Klavins, she was born on January 4, 1941, in Riga, Latvija. Ara and her parents fled Latvija during the Soviet occupation and spent several years in Germany before immigrating to the United States in 1950.  She graduated from Roslindale High School in 1959 in Roslindale, MA and later attended The University of Hartford. 

She was a long-time member of the Latvian Lutheran Church of Willimantic where she was active in the Ladies Aid and the church board.  When that congregation closed, she then joined The Latvian Church of Manchester. Ara's love for song brought her to the local Latvian Choir Rota where she would sing for many years to follow. Ara enjoyed traveling to her native homeland Latvija as well as spending summer weekends at the Latvian Church Camp “Piesaule” in NH.  Ara’s career was based in the insurance industry where she worked in various agencies in the Manchester area. 

Ara is survived by her husband of 63 years, Leons Bramanis; her daughter, Margita Lavallee and her husband Michael Archambault; her grandchildren, Erik and Anna Lavallee and their father Russell Lavallee, as well as her extended family in Latvija. 

John F. Tierney Funeral home has care of the arrangements. Relatives and friends are invited to calling hours on Saturday, January 21st, 2023, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 60 Church St., Manchester, CT 06040 from 10-11am, followed by a service at 11. Burial will take place privately at the convenience of the family.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to “Piesaule”; checks can be made out to Patrons of the Lutheran Church of Boston,  c/o Latvian Lutheran Church of Boston, 58 Irving St, Brookline, MA  02445.