"It's always good to remember where you come from and celebrate it. To remember where you come from is part of where you're going."
-----Anthony Burgess
My better half and I were so reminded on the North Sea. There, on a ship sailing south, we encountered a friendly couple who cordially invited us to join them at their table --- the only open seats in the house.
It wasn't long before I knew we were in luck. Not only did Don and Margaret "Meg" Prine Gurzynski hail from Baton Rouge, but she is the daughter of the late Willie L. "Billy" Prine and Tinka Ott Prine (1937-2024).
Her siblings are Leenette Prine Bill (David) and Walter Scott Prine (Christi). Their father Billy was the brother of the late Betty Jean Booty of Mt. Hermon, and Ms. Tinka - the daughter of Angus Oswald Ott and Margaret Elizabeth Miller Ott - had deep roots in this neck of the woods. In fact, Jackie Ott Dobie, my elementary English teacher without whose early instruction I never could have written this column, is Meg's mother's first cousin. It's pretty safe to say that all the Otts are from Mt. Hermon. Meg acknowledged that her entire Ott family is buried in the cemetery there.
From Louisiana to Belgium, where we were next pulling into port. What were the chances? A toast or maybe two, to Washington Parish roots. Again, it is a small world.
So, it should have come as no surprise for me to scale the steps of my daughter Betsy and son-in-law Erik's home on the south shore and hear my name, perfectly enunciated. There, perched on the front porch, was Paul Matthew Jones. I knew him as Matt, back in our early days of practicing law with the firm of Liskow & Lewis. In 1989, he graduated from LSU Law School at the tip top of his class --- we both accepted offers in the firm's Lafayette office which is where we first met some thirty odd years ago.
And as luck would have it all these years later, Matt and his wife Ann are Betsy and Erik's kind neighbors on Marengo, uptown. Reconnecting, Rodney and I were fortunate to be invited to their lovely abode for a festive Christmas party. But that's not where the story actually began. Like mine, Matt's roots are in Washington Parish. He and I made that connection back in 1990.
Matt is the son of Paul Jones (1933-2016) and wife Dewey Colleen Jones, and he is the sibling of Pamela Robin Jones Grego (Dr. Michael), Allison Anne Jones Downer (Philip), and the late Marsha Lynn Jones Semon. His paternal grandparents were Jewel Bascom Jones and wife Annie Pauline Stewart Jones of Angie. The couple had married in 1932. Matt's father Paul, who went on to enjoy a successful, forty-five year career with Allstate Insurance, was a native of Washington Parish.
Born in Enon in 1933, Mr. Paul graduated from Angie High School where he shared co-valedictorian honors with his twin, Sue Jones (Foil). And they attended Angie Baptist Church where their parents were active members. Their mother Pauline Jones served as a Sunday School teacher and also as church treasurer. And Matt proudly informed that his grandmother was well known at the Angie Post Office, where she worked for thirty-five years and served as Postmaster for much of the duration. Now, he really had my attention; we all know how enthralled I am with the Post Office. Ms. Pauline must have known everyone in Washington Parish.
I'm willing to bet she knew our neighbor's parents. That would be neighbor Andrew "Andy" Thomas, who together with his wife Paula and their beautiful family, moved a couple of years ago to a pretty home, three doors down from us. It was on our late evening walk when my husband Rodney and I first made Andy's acquaintance that we discovered, lo and behold, his ancestors were firmly rooted in Washington Parish. His father Roger Thomas, married to Cheri, of Angie is the son of George Earl Thomas, Sr. (1932-2016), and wife Estelle "Polly" Morgan Thomas (1931-2005). And George, one of eight children, was born in 1932 to Ephriam and Meacy Thomas of Plainview. A graduate of Bogalusa High School, George and wife Polly had five children: Earl Thomas (Stacy), Roger Thomas (Cheri), Carey Thomas, Dana Thomas Seal (Troy), and Jeff Thomas (Kim). Mr. George was employed for forty-five years at the Bogalusa Paper Mill, retiring in 1997. And after that, he toiled parish-wide with his Massey Ferguson tractor, faithfully pulling floats in the Bogalusa Fourth of July parades and the MCCA parade.
But my real connection to Mr. George - Andy's grandfather --- would be his brother Vernon Thomas (1918-2016), a World War II P.O.W. I had the good fortune to interview Mr. Vernon who was a World War II hero and a prince of a fellow in Bogalusa in early July of 2016, just in the nick of time. And in the process, I met his lovely daughters Kathy Lovecchio and Donnis Sanders. Though I missed meeting daughters Arline Bankston and Dianne Cesario, Donnis became my very dear friend, staying in touch all these years later. Discovering that my neighbor is her first cousin, once removed - Andy's dad Roger and Donnis are first cousins - came like a bolt from the blue. Reflecting on her Uncle George, Donnis told me, "He was a lot like Daddy with his kind, loving spirit. I can still see him on his tractor."
I wasn't at all surprised to learn that Andy was from Washington Parish. During our initial encounter, Rodney mentioned that he had future plans to replace a fence. Without hesitation, Andy (a good quarter century younger than Rodney) piped up, volunteering to help anytime - just like folks from home. A good neighbor on our lane, and we didn't have to cross the pond or the lake to find him.
