Maude Daigle

Miss Maude lived her whole life in White Castle. She grew up on Belle Grove and Cora plantations, then moved as a young wife and mother to an isolated farm house in the middle of cane field on Alhambra Plantation. She and her husband, Alvin, lived in that house and farmed the land until they retired.

Her volunteer work centered on her children’s activities and her church. She was known for baking amazing cakes and cinnamon rolls, as the children of White Castle loved her popcorn balls and lemon squares. She worked tirelessly cooking for Our Lady of Prompt Succor fairs and—later in her life—Vacation Bible School. When her sister Ann was living in the Hammond school for the disabled, she collected thousands of pounds of used clothing, books and toys and personally delivered them.

After retirement, her husband planted two acres with vegetables in their backyard. Miss Maude loaded crates of their fresh produce in her car and donated them to St. Vincent de Paul and to local families. When a nearby catering company had food left over from events, Miss Maude picked that up as well and drove it to Baton Rouge.

She was a lifelong volunteer with Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church. She served on the church’s first Lay Council in the late 1960s and worked with the Ladies’ Altar Society and the Catholic Daughters. She was also a Eucharistic Minister, bringing Holy Communion to the sick.

By all accounts, however, her passions in life were her husband and her children. She and Alvin were married for 71 years, and they lived together in their home until her death. When Miss Maude lay gravely ill in a hospital bed in her living room, the family set up a bed for Mr. Alvin, who slept right next to her.

She was the eldest of Joseph and Onezille Naquin Martinez’s eight children. Seven of her siblings have preceded her in death: sisters Ann Martinez, Theresa Boso and Louise Navarre, and brothers Richard, Edward, and Bernard “Bonnie” Martinez. Miss Maude also lost one son, Leslie “Poochie,” when he was only two years old.

Surviving Miss Maude are her husband, Alvin; her sons Dennis Daigle and his wife, Marilyn, White Castle, and Jerry Daigle and his wife, Sarah Jane, Alexandria; daughters Carolyn Knickerbocker, White Castle; Janelle Bannon and her husband, Paul, Baton Rouge; Debra “Lilly” Daigle and her husband, Mark Charleville, Benton; and Patricia Stark and her husband, Bill, Santa Barbara, Calif.; 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Gerald Martinez of White Castle is her only surviving brother.

A viewing will be held at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church in White Castle at 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 25, with a funeral mass to follow at 11 a.m. Interment will be immediately after at White Castle Cemetery and Mausoleum. The Rev. Joey Angeles will officiate.

The family will welcome flowers to the Church and donations to St. Vincent de Paul in Baton Rouge. The family also wants to thank Pinnacle Home Health, especially Angelique and Michelle, and the Comfort Care Hospice staff for their loving care.