Mercer Adese Riche came into this world at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge in November of 1948. She was born the cherished only child of Roy Lawrence Riche and Ada Lea Watkins Riche. Proud grandparents were Mack Henry Watkins and Laura Celine Landry Watkins, on her maternal side, and Louis Jervey (Gervais) Riche and Mercedese Lemonier Riche, on her paternal side. Mercer was the namesake of both her paternal grandmother and her mother whose names were shortened and combined to yield her beautiful name.
She enjoyed an idyllic childhood in Baton Rouge where her father, a Navy veteran who served in both World Wars I and II, worked for Ethyl Corporation, retiring in 1976. And, the son of the owner of a Meat Market, Roy Riche had also worked in the family business, butchering and supplying meat. As a by-product, he was also an excellent cook who passed along his passion to his family.
Mercer grew up surrounded by grandmothers (her grandfathers predeceased her) and extended family. Having lived on Sherwood Drive and gone to both Prescott and Istrouma Junior High Schools, she moved with her parents to the pastoral country, fifty-two acres in Baker, when she was in the tenth grade. This enabled young Mercer to have her own horse. She attended Baker High School where she was active in the Pep Squad, Future Nurses of America (President, her senior year), and the Baker Riders' Club.
Mercer graduated in 1966 and matriculated to Louisiana State University that fall. Changing her major from pre-med to medical technology, she completed three years of classes with an emphasis on chemistry and biology/microbiology. The fourth year consisted of study and work at the new Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge. After graduation from LSU, Mercer continued her work there until a trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras with a classmate who worked at "Big" Charity Hospital triggered a transfer. Soon, she too was working in the chemistry laboratory at "Big" Charity in the Crescent City.
Also working as a Phlebotomist, Ms. Mercer moved to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit lab. She poignantly remembered, "It was so sad to see those tiny little darlings struggling to survive, but it was so rewarding when they did and were able to go home with their parents. All of the nurses and I were so happy for their parents when they could go home, but we also cried because we felt like they were our children."
Meanwhile, Ronald Jones Brumfield had graduated from Central High School in 1961 and Louisiana State University where he majored in Business Administration. While in college, he worked part-time at Fetty Hundemer Advertising in Baton Rouge.
Mr. Ron reminisced, "It was a great experience. We handled a number of political campaigns, including Governor John McKeithen, Mayor Chep Morrison, and Woody Dumas, who served four consecutive terms as mayor of Baton Rouge."
Mr. Ron also joined an Army Reserve Unit in Baton Rouge, serving for six years from 1966 through 1972.
He recalled, "This was a finance unit and we made payrolls for the troops, so they loved us." They must have been popular, indeed.
After graduation from LSU, Ron moved to New Orleans where he became a State Farm Insurance claims adjuster. And he sagely enrolled at Loyola University Law School which he attended at night while handling State Farm claims during the day. A hectic schedule to say the least. And one that, upon reflection, Mr. Ron did not recommend.
But he found his calling, in the law. It was at a speech competition, sponsored by the Baton Rouge Jaycees at a bank in Baton Rouge, that a fellow informed Ron after he spoke, "You should be a lawyer because you're believable." Mr. Ron told me, "It had never entered my mind." That fellow was not only wise but prescient. Mr. Ron pursued, with ardor, a career in the law.
I sort of think Ms. Mercer's mother, Mrs. Riche, also may have been prophetic. She indubitably set in motion the meeting of Ron and her daughter Mercer.
In 1971, during the time Ron was living, working, and attending law school in New Orleans, he accompanied his brother-in-law to look at a piece of property, 52 acres on the Comite River, that the brother-in-law was interested in buying.
As luck would have it, the land belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Roy Riche - Ms. Mercer's parents. While at their home, Mr. Ron noticed "a picture of a very pretty girl on the piano" as he described it. He learned that she was working as a Medical Technologist at Charity Hospital in New Orleans.
Ron and Mrs. Riche put two and two together and discovered that he and Mercer lived just a few blocks apart in Metairie. Accordingly, Mrs. Riche prudently provided her daughter's phone number and encouraged him to call her. Striking while the iron was hot, Ron took Mercer out on the town. As he would say, "And the rest is history!!"
His brother-in-law didn't buy the land, but Mr. Ron gained a bride. He declared, "Our first date was an omen." And a coup de foudre. Ms. Mercer explained, "On our first date, we went to the Lamplighter, a restaurant and bar at the top of the Rault Center Building in downtown New Orleans. We were enjoying talking and getting to know each other when a group of people who were in the Oil Business arrived and started celebrating the evening. The next thing I knew was that they looked at us and said, 'Awe! Y'all are newlyweds, aren't you?' My first thought was, 'there goes any hope of a second date---they just scared him away!' To my surprise, Ron said, 'How did y'all know?' Well needless to say, they took us in and celebrated us, too!" Apparently, the Texas oilmen also could foretell the future.
Mr. Ron was certainly smitten by the pretty girl on the piano. And the couple's courtship continued with May of 1972 proving to be a busy, and very good, month. Mr. Ron graduated from Loyola Law School, was discharged from the Army, and wed Miss Mercer Riche. Felicity, all around.
•Stay tuned for Part 3 next week as the Brumfields settle in Franklinton.
