"Life of the party," super centenarian Hilda La Foucade who celebrated her 102nd birthday on December 31, died in her sleep on May 23. The centenarian, who died of natural causes, was the mother of seven children, 50 grandchildren, 47 great-grandchildren, and 20 great-great-grandchildren. She lived at Techier Village, Point Fortin. A granddaughter of the centenarian, Malikah Baliwa, said La Foucade would be remembered fondly because she was really special to her family and for having the lot of them. "She was our life, she made our life fun," Baliwa said. "She was very boisterous, she had a loud voice, very sweet and she always had something positive to contribute.
With her, there was no generation gap." "We used to call her the life of the party because she always made you laugh. "She used to say 'if you bring strangers to the house, what you expect me to do, just sit and look at them? Of course not! You have to make them feel welcome!' "She would always find something to say that would have them laughing." Baliwa said her grandmother had been in perfect health, wasn't senile and had all her faculties intact. "She had a very healthy appetite," Baliwa said, chuckling. "We used to call her Kentucky Derby because any hour you pass with KFC by her, as she smelled it, she would get up and go for it."
Baliwa said her grandmother had no special diet, but attributed her secret to long life to her faith in God. "She might have a brandy once per year," Baliwa said. "She was a devout Catholic, that is her major strength. Even though she could not speak properly during her last days, all she was saying was 'pray for me' until the end. "She used to say that the only thing I didn't get from her was her diminutive size, but every thing else was hers; like her big mouth," Baliwa said laughing.
"I'm almost like a replica of her because she was kind of tiny. My size is my grandfather's, everything else is her's." La Foucade was one of two centenarians who were honoured for their contribution to the Point Fortin community with plaques, cash and wheelchairs at a ceremony at the Point Fortin Borough Corporation on March 24 2010. La Foucade has five surviving children, the eldest being 80-year-old Beryl Artenus, Noelyn Pierre, Venice La Foucade, Virginia Thomas and Vaida Nelson.