When
Julia met Paul Child in Ceylon, he was a sophisticated artist working as a
cartographer (making charts and maps) and as the designer of Lord Mountbatten’s
Headquarters. Though he was not very rich, ten years younger, and just a couple
of inches taller, they were attracted to each other immediately. Both Julia and
Paul were assigned China. They were in love but Paul was reluctant to commit to
a permanent relationship during the war. After the war, Julia went back to
California, and on September 1, 1946 Julia and Paul were married. Julia loved
her husband so much that she would sign their letters as “PJ” or Pulia” as if
they were each two halves of one person.
They had a long life together, almost
48 years. In 1989, Paul had suffered a stroke and was later moved to a nursing
home near Cambridge, Massachusetts. She would call him constantly and visited
him daily. In 1994, sadly, her lifelong friend and partner died.
