Mary Scafide

Mary Etna Porche Scafide 1928-2013 Mary Etna Porche Scafide passed away at her Houma residence on December 7, 2013. She was 85 years old and died of heart failure. She was a dedicated wife, a loving mother, a devout Catholic, and she spent most of her life active in her community. Visitation will be held on Monday, December 9, 2013 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at Chauvin Funeral Home, Inc. and Tuesday, December 10, 2013 from 10:00am to 11:00am at St. Eloi Catholic Church. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 at 11:00am at St. Eloi Catholic Church with burial in St. Eloi Catholic Church Cemetery. Daughter of J. Milton Porche and Mary Etna Whitmore Porche, she was born in White Castle, Louisiana on August 21, 1928. Mary spent most of her life on Bayou Dularge, where she was a very active member of St. Eloi Catholic Church. Mary is survived by her spouse Andrew J. Scafide, originally of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi; her sister, Inez Porche Brien; her sons Gregory Scafide and Dr. Kyle Scafide; her daughters Gaynel Scafide Carroll, Debra Scafide Reed, Lynne Scafide Gibson, and her son-in-law Norman G. Gibson, III.. She is survived by ten grandchildren, fifteen great grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, and other relatives. She will be greatly missed. Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Milton and Mary Etna Porche, and her sisters, Sidonia A. P. Porche and Sybil P. Martinez. Her granddaughter, Collette Reed, died at birth. She was a member/parishioner of St. Eloi Catholic Church. She graduated from St. Francis de Sales Academy in May of 1945 and was working in a secretarial position at National Supply Company in Houma when she met Andrew J. Scafide, whom she married in 1952. In the following nine years, they had five children.They recently celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. Mary Scafide was known by many as “Miss Mary,” the teacher who started the firststructured kindergarten, “Little Bo Peep,” on Bayou Dularge in the 1960s. She and her husband, A. J., are also remembered for opening up the first women’s clothing store on Bayou Dularge, The Fashion Post. For almost 20 years, she worked as a bank teller. She and her husband also lived in Tripoli Libya, Oklahoma, and Dallas. They returned to their home on Bayou Dularge when A. J. retired, and only recently moved to the city of Houma so that they could spend their golden years living closer to their children, grandchildren, and great-grand children. She was a self-taught musician, having learned how to play the piano while watching her father. She had a lovely voice, and she served as the choir director at both St. Eloi and St. Bernadette. She was a member of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas for over 50 years.