I want to die at Sacred Heart

I had often heard mamma talk about Miss Marie who took care of the church at Sacred Heart in Ville Platte. They said she was a saint. Late in life, she could barely walk, but would drag herself up the aisle to receive the sacrament of communion. To show her suffering and offer them up, they said.

                                       
Miss Marie, her maiden name was Ortego, she was Van Ortego's 'aint. And she was married to Curtis Fontenot. 
Curtis Fontenot, right!
He was a mail carrier, like Don said, and they had seven or eight children.

Woah!

They only had one boy, and the youngest child was my age, her name was Loretta, Loretta Fontenot. I graduate with her, a very good friend of mine and um, Miss Marie... Loretta was supposed to die when she was like, ten years old. Her appendix had ruptured and in those days, I mean, they didn't have- she had very very high fever when the doctor- Old Dr. Arthur Vidrine performed surgery on her on their kitchen table. He said he told Miss Marie, he says, you know, there's no chance for her to live...and she made a promise to the Virgin Mary that if Loretta lived she would just dress her in blue and white until she was ten years old- I mean til- for five years or somethin- I don't remember exactly. And that uh, she- I guess she made a promise that she would, you know, pray like she prayed and she was very devoted. And I knew her very very well personally ang I can promise you, she's a saint.

She knew the exact minute she was going to die. She was livin in Lake Charles with her daughter Anne, and her son-in-law Lee, and that mornin' Loretta told me, she says Mom wasn't any worse and she told Lee she says call Father I wanna have the last sacrament and I want communion this mornin.  And he said ohhhh he says Marie, he says, Father's too busy to come he cain't just drop everything and come. And she says I tell you, I want it now and you gonna drive me to Ville Platte cause I wanna go to Sacred Heart to die. And the priest came, he anointed her and all dat, she didn't look like she was very sick and they put her on the backseat of their van and they started drivin to Ville Platte. By the time they got to Chataignier, she started gettin really, really bad off, and she told Lee keep driging, drive faster, drive faster I wanna die at Sacred Heart. I want to die at Sacred Heart. And do you know when they got in front of that cemetery on Chataignier Road she said Lee, I don't know if I'll make it, can't you go a lil bit faster? And when they turned on the Sacred Heart parking lot she died.

Wow.

-Mmmhmm

And, that's the story...

Ok, Well, Thank you very much Miss Lena!

etc....
 

The Sacred Heart Parking Lot