Josey A.
You hail from a long line of Janes and Elizabeths. "Ysabelle" (Spanish for "Elizabeth") Allarey Pagkalinawan, a Filipina, was unable to have children of her own, so adopted her cousin's child, Maria Cristina. Cristina married fellow townsman, George Biley, Jr. in Lucena, Philippines. George was the son of George Biley, Sr, an Irish-American, who'd come to the Philippines from Chicago to fight in the Spanish-American war (at that point, the Philippines had been a Spanish colony for over 300 years). George and Cristina had 18 kids. The second, a daughter, they named "Elizabeth". When Elizabeth was just a few months old, the family had to hide in the mountains to escape from the invading Japanese during World War II. The infant Elizabeth died as a result. Soon after, George and Cristina had another daughter, whom they named "Jane Elizabeth" -- "Jane" for the child's paternal grandmother "Juanaria", and "Elizabeth" for her maternal grandmother "Ysabelle".
As a young nurse in the Philippines, Jane Elizabeth and her friend, Angelita, decided to play a practical joke on Angelita's brother, Alejandro, a U.S. Navyman who had placed a newspaper ad looking for penpals, under the pseudonym "Apollo". Alejandro Quebral Andrion was the son of Prudencio and Maria Quebral Andrion and grew up in Ilocos Sur, Philippines. He joined the Navy after graduating from college, and while at sea, decided he would need some pen pals to keep himself entertained. Recognizing her brother's handiwork, Angelita convinced her friend to begin writing letters to him. Jane Elizabeth similarly took a pseudonym, "Lisa". When Apollo the Sailor's letters arrived, young nurses gathered 'round Lisa to hear what he had to say. Four years later, the practical joke having been exposed, Jane Elizabeth Biley married Alejandro Andrion on Valentine's Day 1970 in Toronto, Canada. Three years later, they had your Auntie Elizabeth. And six years and nine months later, they had me, in Long Beach California.
Your middle name, Andrion, derives from the Philippine tradition of using the mother's maiden name for the child's middle name. For many many many years, the family believed "Andrion" was a Spanish surname, reflecting the Philippines' days as a colony of Spain. When my mom was a young adult, a fellow Andrion in Maryland reached out to the Andrions in Texas and told them that the name actually descends from a group of Italians who had immigrated to the Philippines. "Andrion", as it happens, means "of the Adriatic sea". There's even a family crest in Italy for the "Amazing Andrions".
I leave to your dad and grandparents the story of the Griffin legacy. It's a good one.
