Rosalee Coutee was 98 years old, a resident of the town of Cloutierville, Louisiana, when she died. She led a long life, had children, worked at simple, physically demanding jobs to raise those children, mostly alone, then went on to see her family multiply. That multiplication brought 36 grandchildren, 86 great-grandchildren and a growing number of great-great and great-great-great grandchildren, the numbers of which continue to be tallied. That large family meant a movement not just of the intimate relationships within the family but an expansion of culture to other areas, and the identity of the family has meant a living, teaching moment for all those who have come to know this family.
In a world where nuclear families, small and changing, are becoming the norm a family with a large number of members who know and have mostly grown up together is significant. It is significant because the modern family is smaller, and the demographics and dynamics of that modern family means geographical divisions that translate into emotional ones. Furthermore, as the core culture dissipates the binding customs that keep families together dissolve, leaving an emotional isolation from members. It is not uncommon for cousins never to meet each other and for grandparents to die in a nursing home ward, seldom visited by anyone.
So as a measure of success in what scientists say is the way to live a long and fruitful life, Rosalee Coutee achieved a very high level of it. That came not just in numbers but in the replication of her culture, multicultural and Catholic, that binds the family together and touches others in ways that teach. It says that multicultural interactions that are intimate, that bring love and multiply to others, can foster intimacy that produces healthy personalities and a long life for those who are connected to it. It means racial boundaries disappear as new people are embraced.
For grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great grandmother Coutee, her family gave homage on Monday night, but their lives and their love will continue to give homage and immortalize her in meaningful ways. That is true greatness, when one is remembered and dies surrounded by love, a love that originates, as many in her family from faith, and that continues to instill love in others.
