Cecile Spiegel (1915-2010) was born in Nuremberg, Germany, the only child of loving parents. She escaped to France amid rising Nazi persecution. She survived WWII hidden in the countryside with aid from French Resistance members. Cecile worked for American forces in post-war France before immigrating to America, where she became a French teacher.  

Diane Tuckman was born in 1935 in Heliopolis, Egypt. At the start of the Arab-Israel war in 1948, her family fled mounting oppression. They settled in France, where Diane translated for American forces before moving to the United States. A noted silk painter, she is a founder of Silk Painters International (SPIN).