The Landry Family in 1967

Usually when I’m sharing a photo of a Landry family from the 1960s, it is of me and my siblings.  But this time it is of my dad, his siblings, and their mom.  There are several photos of my dad and his siblings, and I don’t think that I’ve shared enough of them.  I think they deserve more recognition.  They were a great group of siblings that remained close throughout their whole lives.  

This is actually the first year in over 100 years that there won’t be one of these siblings around.  The first one – Marie Therese Landry – was born in 1923.  The last one – John Alfred Xavier Landry – was born in 1936 and he died last year on July 28, 2024.  From beginning to end was 101 years.  This photo was taken close to the middle of that time period.

In this photo, the last is the first.  Uncle Johnny is the one furthest to the left.  He was my parrain or godfather.  Next to him is the first.  She was the oldest, and she wore that role well.  She was the leader of the pack.  If she didn’t approve of something, she’d let you know.  She didn’t really look much older.  In fact in this photo, it would be difficult to distinguish who was older than who.  They were all pretty close in age and they’re all dressed so formally.  That’s due to Uncle Hubert, who is next in the photo.  He’s wearing a boutonniere because he was the father of the bride on this special day.

It was the wedding day of his daughter Shirley, who is my godmother.  She married Dudley Shaw on June 24, 1967.  (At least that’s what my Ancestry information tells me.  I had the photo incorrectly dated as 1968.  So sue me, it was a long time ago!)  I was looking through some of those wedding photos a few weeks ago and I think I may have spied myself at the reception.  I’m sure I must have been there, even though I don’t really remember anything about it.  It was an important event.  It was the first wedding of my generation of the family.  Uncle Hubert looks pretty pleased in the photo.

He should be, he’s standing by our dear Mee Maw!  Her name was Germaine Erie Patureau Landry and she was my paternal grandmother.  But before that, she was mother of these eight Landry siblings.  She gave birth to all of them in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and most of them lived out their lives there.  She was a wonderful mother and grandmother.  She was also very involved with her own family history and was already researching the family and collecting old photos and family documents.  Her collection was divided in 1973 after her death, but recently the cousins have gotten together a few times to share what they have.  A lot of my posts have been fueled by the passion that my grandmother had for her family.  Thank you, Mee Maw!

On the other side of Mee Maw is Uncle A. J.  He is the oldest son, even though he had more hair than Hubert at the time.  I always thought the two of them resembled one another.  In some photos I have to look really close to make sure I don’t have them confused.  Uncle A. J. was the only one that didn’t stay in Louisiana.  He was in Houston for a long time, then he and Aunt Margie moved to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at some point.  That’s where her family was from.  After A. J., we next see Aunt Germaine and Aunt Wana.  I always thought that these two looked similar to each other.  They didn’t act the same.  Wana was very talkative and casual, while Germaine was more reserved and somewhat formal. They were both very kind and generous women, but their styles were decidedly different.

The youngest daughter was Aunt Frances.  I sometimes think of her as the heart of the family.  Love was her superpower.  It was demonstrated particularly at funerals through the years.  She was such a supportive presence to the family.  She also had some feistiness mixed in there.  And last, but not least we have my dad.  He was known to people as Bob or Pluto to his friends.  But his family knew him as Uncle Bobbie, Daddy, or Pappy.  He always appreciated his family.  It’s not something he ever said, though.  He was like his mom and spent several decades studying his family’s history.  You wouldn’t do that unless you appreciated your family.  He also provided a safe and stable place for our family to grow.  That leaves a lasting impression.

This is my family.