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degree from Ole Miss, so he applied for and was awarded a fellowship scholarship. At the same time, our oldest son Guy was going to be attend- ing Ole Miss,” Juanita explained. So at age 48, Emile resigned from his job to go back to school. “They would drive home every other weekend,” Juanita said. “One inter- esting note I might add is that Emile was in the same dorm as Archie Manning during his two semesters at Ole Miss. He loved sports and enjoyed the fellow- ship.” The course was a three-semester course normally spanned over an 18 month period, but Emile applied himself and finished in 12 months. He accepted a job in New Orleans with the Regional Planning Com- mission, commuted 22 years, and retired from that job. Juanita said that Emile had French heritage and had a strong desire to trace his ancestors. During his lunch breaks while working in New Orleans, Emile would often spend his lunch break at St Louis Cathedral which turned out to be a gold mine for ge- nealogy research. Juanita said that when a couple was married there at the famous church, the names of both sets of parents are recorded. Emile would use this data to keep going back generation after generation. He was able to trace an ancestor to the founding of New Orleans in 1817, when Laurent was sent from France as a soldier to New Orleans and Mobile to serve as a peace officer. Several of his ancestors fought with General Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans. Over the years, Emile’s tireless work in genealogy pulled Juanita into becoming a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) prov- ing eight Revolutionary soldiers and patriots, the Colonial Dames XVII Century, and Magna Carta Dames. She served twenty-two years on the Na- tional Board of Colonial Dames SVII Century reach- ing the role of President General for the 11,000-plus national membership. Juanita made numerous trips to the U.S. Air Force Academy, West Point, and Naval Academy to present awards to outstanding students during this time. Emile traced Juanita’s ancestry by tracking down a family bible that was in the possession of one of her relatives in Sumrall. When Guy and Kerry married, he traced both their families back to Magna Carta (1215 AD). The National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century is an organization of women, eighteen years of age or over, who are lineal descendants of an ancestor who lived and served prior to 1701 in one of the Original Colonies in the geographical area of the present United States of America. Through Colo- nial Dames, Juanita’s ancestry has been proven as far back as William the Conqueror and Charle- magne. After thirty-eight years with Mississippi State Em- ployment Service, Juanita retired at age 62 to coin- cide with Emile’s retirement. The part of her job that she enjoyed most was helping people find work and helping employers find workers. A year later in 1993, Emile became ill and passed away. A short time later, she became a certified instructor and started leading a new exercise program for sen- ior citizens at her church, First United Methodist, for twelve years. In, 1998, the late Dewey Partridge asked her to take over teaching aquatic exercise at The Cornerstone when the previous instructor decided to no longer lead the class. Juanita has been instructing this group for the past twenty-two years. Juanita became the secretary at the Senior Center of South Pearl River County and worked nine years with the late Wootsie Tate to secure a grant to build a new facility. Juanita recalled working with the for- mer state legislator, stating that Wootsie was so smart and so practical. “We had hired architects to design the new facility, but Wootsie drew it up on paper. In the end, her drawing with written specs was approved by the ar- chitects and that was the way it was built. The Cen- ter still had a mortgage and we were able to pay it by catering lunches and dinners, receptions and par- ties. After Hurricane Katrina, another grant was awarded to expand the Center and that included a large generator and extra room,” Juanita noted. 20 SOUTHERN SENIOR MAGAZINE | Fall 2021