NEXT MEETING:
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Main Branch Library, Houma, LA 1:00 p.m.
WARNING
This is the end of our fiscal year 2005. If you have paid your dues
for 2006, it will be so indicated on your address label. If you want to
continue receiving our superlative quarterly and newsletter, PAY YOUR DUES.
NOW.
If you missed Dr. John DOUCET’s talk at our January meeting, I hope
you had a good reason. It was great! And it was a crowd-pleaser as well,
judging by the number of questions both during the presentation and after
the end. A number of interested people lined up to ask Dr. DOUCET
some more questions. We had a good turnout, including many non-members,
some of whom became members at the meeting. That is what a good speaker
can do. I would like to take this opportunity to invite suggestions about
guest speakers. If you know of someone who you think would be able to speak
to our group, the board will consider any suggestion and extend the invitation.
Topics of interest would be genealogy (of course) and history of this region
(Terrebonne, Lafourche and Assumption parishes).
TERREBONNE LIFE LINES: The Fall quarterly was put together in
record time. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I looked at the clock when we
were ready to leave. It was 1:15 p.m.! We had some good help, although
we heard that some people stayed home because they had commitments at 2:00
p.m. Well, if they had known we would be through collating before 1:30,
they might have been able to come help. Those who showed up to help were:
Beverly ALFORD, Jim AVET, Jess BERGERON, Minus BLANCHARD, Blanche BROWN,
Marcie and Essie CAVALIER, Jane and Phil CHAUVIN, Ed HICKS, “Lou” OSTHEIMER,
Cecilia RICHARD, and Nancy WRIGHT.
BIRTH: Jacob Michael GRAVOIS was born on Monday, January 30,
2006, weighing 6 lbs. 10 oz. He is the son of Alex Bernard GRAVOIS and
Mary-Grace RICHARD. He joins his older brother, Alexander John GRAVOIS.
His paternal grandparents are Albert Anthony GRAVOIS and our board member,
Patricia Ann WHITNEY. His maternal grandparents are Eugene RICHARD and
Bernadette LEGENDRE.
DEATH: It saddens me to report the death of one of our members:
Alexis “Alex” Joseph LEFORT, who died April 22, 2005. I’m sorry that this
news is so late, but I was just notified this past week. He was a native
of Jefferson and a resident of Kinder, LA. He was a veteran of the Navy,
proudly serving his country in World War II. After the war he settled in
Cameron and became a boat captain and worked ferrying workers back and
forth to offshore drilling rigs. He survived Hurricane Audrey in 1957,
but lost his wife, Altha NUNEZ LEFORT, two children Alexis Jr. and Elaine
LEFORT, his mother, Armonica COLLINS LEFORT, and a nephew. He was also
preceded in death by his father, Alexis LEFORT; second wife, Mary Lou ARCENEAUX;
three sisters, Ezora LEFORT AUTHEMENT, Delia LEFORT CLARK, and Modest LEFORT
RICHARD. He is survived by his loving wife, Ethel FONTENOT SACKER LEFORT;
one brother, Paul LEFORT; two sisters, Velma LEFORT ELLENDER and her husband,
Willie, and Odette LEFORT PITRE; one stepdaughter, Mary Lou JOANEN and
her husband, Ted; three stepsons, David SACKER, Paul SACKER and John SACKER;
two step grandsons, Kim FAWVOR and his wife, Barbara, and Tom FAWVOR; and
four step great-grandsons. He was blessed and loved by his many nieces
and nephews. Alex was a kind and gentle man and leaves many friends. He
was a Pentecostal Christian.
Our deepest sympathies go out to member Laurie
PATTON who lost her mother, Sydney SPAHR PORTIER LING, on January 27, 2006.
She was a former owner of Sweet Pea Florist and a former member and past
queen of the Krewe of Flames. She is survived by four daughters, Laurie
PATTON and husband Aaron, Cindy GENTRY and husband Gordon, Amy DUGAS and
husband Ken, and Penny CUNNINGHAM and husband Darryl Sr.; ten grandchildren,
Hilary PATTON, Brooke, Marshall and Taylor GENTRY, Lindsey, Jenna, Kimber
and Kade DUGAS, Darryl Jr. and Brittany CUNNINGHAM; one great-grandson,
Drake Allen SMITH; two brothers, John SPAHR and wife Genny, and Robert
SPAHR and wife Toni Ann; four sisters, Joan GREEN and husband Cecil, Shirley
ORR, Mona CUNNINGHAM and Cathy SPAHR; five stepchildren, and her husband,
Louie P. LING. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lawrence J. PORTIER;
her parents, Sidney and Shirley AITKENS SPAHR; and one grandson, Brandon
PORTIER.
HELP! HELP! HELP!: Please help us contact our displaced members
and get their new addresses. The last time we mailed quarterlies, some
were returned. Scott PICOU and William PREGEANT, we have your new address,
but we need to have $2.00 postage to re-mail your quarterly. Louise GATES,
Fred GAST, Kevin HERRIDGE and Huey WAGUESPACK (of LaPlace, LA), your quarterlies
were returned with no indication of your new addresses. If anyone has corresponded
with these “lost” members, please help us by giving us their present address.
BRICK WALL: I am a couple of months late, but you need to know this:
Dorothy MATTE BERGERON is looking for the marriage date and place of Simon
MATTE (also spelled MATE or MOTT). She also needs his death date. She has
no information about Simon’s wife, Josephine DOUCET; birth date and place,
death and burial, and names of parents. Simon was baptized on December
26, 1828, at the age of 10 months in the church at Lafayette. Their children
were baptized in the churches at Grand Coteau, Church Point and Opelousas.
The family appears in the 1850 and 1860 censuses of St. Landry parish,
but not in the 1870 census. Simon’s parents are Simon MATTE and Celeste
CHIASSON. She says she would appreciate any help she can get. You may contact
her through the society address or at 130 Everette Drive, Houma, LA 70364
or email jessndot at juno.com
NOTICE: This concerns members and friends of SETG&HS (South
East Texas Genealogical and Historical Society? [I’m guessing—Ed]). I quote:
This notice is to inform you about the situation we have with the publication
of “Yellowed Pages” Vol 35 issues 3 & 4.
Tyrrell Historical Library, which is the library we work out of, was
damaged during Hurricane Rita. We have not been able to enter the library
since Sept 23, 2005. All of our publications, materials, and even our checkbook
is in that library. We are sorry about the delay, but as soon as we are
able to get to our material we will get these issues out.
If you have any questions you can email me
at jtwhite50 at hotmail.com or write me using our mailing address at Tyrrell.
Thank you for your support thru the years and we hope that 2006 will be
better than 2005.
Best Regards, Shirley White, SETG&HS membership
2006.
GOT BERNARDS? In your ancestry, that is. They are having a reunion
on Saturday, April 15, 2006, from 10:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Place: Lovett
Road BREC Recreation Center (an air-conditioned and/or heated building)
at 13443 Lovett Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70818. For details, contact Mary
Agnes COKES HAMMETT, 16548 Vermillion Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70819, call
225-273-0320 or email mach10 at bellsouth.net Sounds like fun!! Please
spread the word to all family members. A descendant Family Tree will be
on display.
MEETING AND SEMINAR: The Louisiana Genealogical and Historical
Society is holding its annual meeting and seminar on Saturday, April 29,
at the Holiday Inn South on Airline Hwy. (Airline at I-12) in Baton Rouge,
LA. Informative genealogical presentations are planned by Dr. Terry L.
JONES, Dr. John DOUCET, Robert de BERARDINIS and Dr. Wilbur MENERAY. Full
details are available on the website http://www.rootsweb.com/~la-lghs/
Registration blanks are at that site, also. Registration is $35 for non-members
and for members registering after April 1st. Contact Sue E. BADEAUX, Louisiana
Genealogical and Historical Society, P. O. Box 82060, Baton Rouge, LA 70884-2060,
or phone 225-659-7422, or email suebado at cox.net for more information
and a registration blank. It sounds great, but our April meeting is on
that day. DARN.!@#$%^&*
ELECTIONS: At the February meeting we will hold our biennial
elections. Look for a heated debate between the candidates for office.
[NOT] Daniel “Chuck” GUIDRY announced that he will be moving across the
lake in the near future, so will not be able to continue his excellent
job of board member as he has in the past. He has already started work
on his place of residence, so cannot spare very much time, even now. Please
help us elect a replacement.
BOOKS: The sale of our books on newspaper notices is going nicely.
These are the copies of the notices that appeared in The Houma Courier
or The Daily Comet (Lafourche parish) at the time of the event. They are
especially useful for obituaries, since they often give a list of surviving
members of a family as well and the deceased members. However, we should
warn you that the opportunity, once passed, may not return very soon. Think
of how long some people have waited for this chance because they missed
the first printing. Deadlines will depend on what year you are wishing
to order. For the 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 books (Houma Courier
Deaths, Comet Deaths, or Houma Courier Births) the deadline is the May,
2006, meeting (May 27, 2006) and we will print them in June. Time flies,
people. You gotta decide NOW. You have a little more time for the 1985-1990
books. Watch this space for further announcements. Remember, there was
one of each title published each year. Please understand, these are not
abstracts, but photocopies of the original obituary. They often include
family members, especially deceased ones and many times name the grandchildren
of the subject person. If you are lucky, the obituary provides insight
into the personality of the deceased: his or her clubs or societies, military
experience, honors and titles.
We will be reprinting these books on order. If we
have only a few orders, we will produce them for you. We have the “masters”
for all of the obituary books from 1985 forward. These are especially valuable
for public (and private) libraries. Be sure you complete your collection.
This is a one time offer. Send your order to Jess BERGERON, as usual, and
specify the newspaper title and the year. For instance Obituary Book: Houma
Courier, 1998. Please include $30.00 for each book and $3.00 for shipping.
Sorry, but no member discount will be available for this special printing. |