They were the longest known married couple in Louisiana. I met them two years ago when we did a story on their 75th anniversary. Fernand can't hear very well, so we'd have to ask his daughter a question, then she'd ask him in French, and he'd answer in English. He kept saying "Hard work never killed anybody."
Anyway, I made some pictures of him today as family members came from out of town for the funeral. Everybody shared stories and had no problem with a photographer being in the living room. It's the first time I've been in a situation like this and not felt uncomfortable.
So here's some pictures of Fernand as he talked about his wife, Emily. At first he started to break down and cry a lot... but once the stories started rolling, he was fine. The woman in the first picture is his daughter-in-law saying hello after arriving from Shreveport.
It was really great to spend time with someone like this. He just lost half of his life, but was still very open and welcoming. He must have asked if I wanted coffee 5 times. It's assignments like these that remind me why I love my job.
