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- Obituary:
Pioneer Woman Of Rayne Dies Sunday
St. Joseph Catholic Church at 9 a.m., Monday, March 23, Father H. Lerschen officiating. during his sermon, he spoke of the many virtues which Mrs. McBride possessed, stressing her motherhood and life of love for her children, which was made the more impressive by the tear stained faces of these same "girls and boys" who surrounded her during the funeral. At the close of the last rites, the funeral procession continued on to St. Joseph's cemetery, where the remains were laid to rest in the family vault.
Pallbearers included Mrs. McBride's four sons: Walter, Edward, Henry and Anderson, and two nephews, Felix Perres and O.T. McBride.
The well conducted arrangements were in charge of the Ardoin Funeral Home.
With Mrs. McBride's death, one of Rayne's most colorful characters has passed on. With her went a wealth of history and lore of this community since she was one of the first residents of Rayne and the former Poupeville. Her father, August Perres, Sr., came to this section of Louisiana from France, and was one of the first to make his home in the vicinity of what is now known as Rayne. He married a Miss LeBlanc who was in turn a daughter of a Miss Broussard, the family line being direct descendants of Longfellow's famous "Evangeline". Mrs. McBride's mother was originally from what is now the Church Point community, but after her marriage, she and Mr. Perres moved to this section. Mrs. McBride was born on one of the largest tracts in the State at that time, owned by her father and located in and around Poupeville, near the present John Servat farm. The settlement gradually grew and the present St. Joseph Church was established near there some 70 years ago. Later, with the passing of the Southern Pacific Lines, the entire settlement was moved up to the tracks and renamed Rayne, Mrs. McBride moving into town 65 years ago she married Walter Scott McBride of the Church Point section and since that time, has made her home continuously in Rayne.
To talk with her was a rare treat, for she had the customs and history of the community at her fingertips and with her many experiences in the early days, she was a source of unusual and accurate information. During her girlhood and early wife-hood, the families had to spin their own cotton and weave their cloth for wearing apparel. All of their cooking was done in chimneys, and hardships were plentiful. Mrs. McBride was one of the few of these Louisiana pioneers who lived to see electricity become universally used along with thousands of other inventions and improvements, and she kept in touch with the wide progress of the world during her last years.
Her keen mind and active sense of humor, made Mrs. McBride a constant source of pleasure to her family and hundreds of friends, these faculties even seeming to improve with the advancement of years. She recognized everyone immediately and always had a friendly greeting for all.
In her last illness, around her bedside were gathered her "boys" and "girls", always girls and boys to her although they have grown to mature years with homes of their own. The life so long interwoven with theirs, they watched with grief-stricken hearts, while it slowly but surely passed over. The love of a mother for her children passes all human understanding and just such a love did this mother have for her family. We feel confident that in coming years the memory of her unselfish devotion will be for them a guiding star and an ever present inspiration. Although fully aware that her "four score and ten" had long since passed, this mother had no fear of death. She talked with members of her family about the past and planned for the present and future. Her last words were of love for her children, and that quiet closing scene has left with them the indication of that wonderful peace to which she has been claimed after her long years of service and labor on this earth. A true Christian, Mrs. McBride practiced the precepts of her early teaching faithfully, and was prepared when the last summons came.
Tribune bows its head in grief at the passing of so loved a figure, and it is with sincere regret that we add our words of condolences to those who have been voiced by the scores of friends throughout this section.
Surviving Mrs. McBride, former Miss Aurelia Perres, are six children: Anderson of Rayne, Henry of Port Arthur, Miss Ella McBride, Walter, Edward, and Mrs. Jos. Privat, all of Rayne. In addition she is survived by one adopted daughter, Mrs. G. Besse of Port Arthur; four half-sisters: Mrs. Sylvestre Boudreaux, and Mrs. John LeBleu of Rayne and Mrs. Adam Talbot and Mrs. Felix Royer of Port Arthur; and one half-brother, Anatole Clement of Rayne; seventeen grandchildren, and one niece, Mrs. Lucille Jeanmard of Lafayette and one nephew, Felix Perres of Rayne. Her only brother, August Perres, Jr., preceded her in death a number of years ago.
(Published in the Rayne Acadian Tribune on March 27, 1936)
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1855 - 1936 (81 years)
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