Ara R. Bramanis , 81, of Manchester, CT , passed away peacefully in her home , surrounded by her family on Wednesday, December 21, 2022. Daughter of the late Arvids and Ludmila ( Kalnins ) Klavins, she was born on January 4, 1941 , in Riga, Latvija . Ara and her parents fled Latvija during the Soviet occupation and spent several years in Germany before immigrating to the United States in 1950 . She graduated from Roslindale High School in 1959 in Roslindale , MA and later attended The University of Hartford. She was a long-time member of the Latvian Lutheran Church of Willimantic where she was active in the L adies A id and the church boar d . W hen that congregation closed, she then joined The Lat vian Church of Manchester . Ara's love for song brought her to the local Latvian Choir Rota where she would sing for many years to follow . Ara enjoyed traveling to her native homeland Latvija as well as spending summer weekends at the Latvian Church Camp " Piesaule " in NH . Ara's career was based in the insurance industry where she worked in various agencies in the Manchester area. Ara is survived by her husband of 63 years , Leons Bramanis ; her daughter, Margita Lavallee and her husband Michael Archambault; her grandchildren, Erik and Anna Lavallee and their father Russell Lavallee , as well as her extended family in Latvija . John F. Tierney Funeral Home has care of the arrangements . Details about services will be made known as they become available and can be fou nd at www. tierneyfuneralhome. com . In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to " Piesaule " ; checks can be made out to Patrons of the Lutheran Church of Boston , c /o Latvian Lutheran Church of Boston, 58 Irving S t , Bro okline, MA 02445 .