Julie Bull Aymonier, 95, of Little Silver, died peacefully Feb. 12, 2021, at her home in Little Silver. Julie was born April 12, 1925, in Sumter, South Carolina. She graduated from the University of South Carolina, Phi Beta Kappa, with majors in art, English and French. She was also a member of Kappa Delta Sorority. While there, she joined the war effort in 1943 as a part-time draftsman for the Carolina Coastal Defense enabling her to earn her way through college. After graduating, Julie spent a year in New York City working as a commercial artist and attending night classes at the Art Students League of New York. She and two of her sorority sisters were in Times Square on VJ Day, Aug. 14, 1945, the night World War II ended.
Afterward, she lived in Dalton, Georgia, working as a commercial artist and studying art for a time in Paris, France, at the National School of Decorative Arts. While in Europe during the years just after WWII, she spent five weeks in a Quaker Work Camp with other student volunteers from 11 different countries rebuilding a war-damaged village in Belgium and also constructing a playground for children.
Upon returning to New York, she met and married Henri Aymonier, an importer of French wines. Julie and Henri moved to Little Silver in 1957 where they raised five children and greatly enjoyed sailing at the Shrewsbury Sailing and Yacht Club in Oceanport. As an artist, Julie trained her eye and heart to capture the beauty and tiny details of life with watercolors, writing poems and articles about some of her adventures. In 2000, she founded The Seniors of Little Silver.
She grew up as an Episcopalian but while living in New Jersey attended the First Assembly of God Church in Shrewsbury and the Red Bank Community Church in Red Bank. Her favorite pastime was walking along the waves in Long Branch early enough to watch the sunrise. “There’s no better place to worship,” she would say. “God is there in the wind and the sand and the waves.”
Julie was a true matriarch and her happiest hours were spent with her family gathered around her. She opened up her heart and home to greet each one as though they were the most precious to her. Julie’s devotion to God and family will be a long-lasting legacy for generations to come. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have been on the receiving side of many hugs and gifts and time spent with Grandmotha playing board games, offering her sharp eye to your puzzle or talking about your day. She truly loved her family, friends and neighbors and remembered all in her prayers. She might not have known the extent of her impact on our world, but she truly made such a difference in so many lives. Her family is large and close-knit, made even larger by the number of people whom she pulled close to her heart and welcomed into her home and into the family. It is her generosity and love that will be remembered with a sweet tenderness to all who knew her.
Surviving are her four daughters, Laurie (Jim) Wilcoxen, Jan Aymonier, Michele (Richard) Gruskos, and Ashley (Jeff) Aymonier Feehan; her son, Henri Aymonier; 11 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren; a stepdaughter, Denise Placek; seven step-grandchildren; 12 step-great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
Julie was preceded in death by her husband Henri Aymonier, step-daughter Monique Hogan and step-son-in-law Ed Hogan.
A memorial celebration will be held later this spring. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to some of Julie’s favorite charities, The Walter Hoving Home at hovinghome.org, and birthright.org.
The article originally appeared in the February 25 – March 3, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
