Remembering Bertha Spafford Vester

Join the grandchildren of Bertha Spafford Vester on Wednesday 21st April at 7pm (British Summer Time) on Zoom as they share their memories of their remarkable grandmother, the founder of the Spafford Children’s Center.

To register for this first Zoom Conversation please complete the registration form here.

Bertha Spafford Vester started the Anna Spafford Children’s Home on Christmas Eve 1925, almost one hundred years ago, in her former family home inside the Old City wall of Jerusalem.  When she died at 90 in 1968, she had in her long and eventful life, travelled as a child from Chicago to the Holy Land, lived through the decline & fall of the Ottoman Empire, two World Wars, the British Mandate, the birth of Israel and the Six Day War.  As a leading figure of the Christian community founded by her parents known as The American Colony, she tirelessly and courageously served the interests of Jerusalem’s most disadvantaged, particularly children, of all faiths.

She married Frederick Vester, from a Swiss-German Missionary family, who became a member of the Colony, travelled regularly to Europe and America, raised six children, and was respected and revered by all who came to know her.  She knew Mark Twain, General Allenby, T.E. Lawrence and Winston Churchill; she was an adopted daughter of a Bedouin tribe and spoke Arabic fluently.  Lowell Thomas, the well-known American author and broadcaster, wrote of her in the introduction to the biography he had urged her to write that “Hers is indeed one of the epic stories of our time”.

Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, both American and British are still closely involved in the well-being and management of the Spafford Children’s Center.  Five of them have agreed to participate in three Conversations.  

Frank Spencer-Nairn, grandson and Chair of FSCC, will take the lead in each one.  In the first conversation, Frank is joined by his first cousin, Djemila Cope, and his sister, Tessa Ingleby.  They will focus on Bertha, drawing on their own memories and also on the stories passed down to them by the previous generation, mainly covering the last thirty years of Bertha’s life.

The second conversation will be with Dr Jantien Dajani, a Dutch paediatrician, who started work at the Spafford Children’s Hospital in 1968, the year Bertha died, rose to become CEO for many years, taking on new roles after retirement and continues to the present on the Board of Trustees.

In the third conversation, Nicholas Vester, another grandson, will be asked by Frank about his early memories and in particular the contribution made by his parents, Horatio, eldest son of Bertha, and Val.  Nicholas’ nephew, Beckett Vester, a great grandson of Bertha and one of the younger FSCC Board members, will give a youthful retrospective.

Each of these conversations will take place on Zoom Webinar. They will include exclusive viewings of family photographs, many of which have never been shown publicly before. Attendees will be able to ask questions at the end of each conversation.

While these webinars are FREE to attend, we are seeking donations to support the continued work of the Spafford Children’s Center. To donate, please click here.

To register for the first Zoom Conversation on Wednesday 21 April at 7-8pm (British Summer Time) please complete the registration form here.