Louise Antoinette Marie, a resident of Les Canelles, Anse Royale who in 1953, was the first Seychellois to give birth to quadruplets, has passed away at 81.
On October 15, 1953, at the age of 20, she gave birth to one son and three daughters.
They were William, Therese, Rachel and Jessy.
Ms Marie later gave birth to six other children; four sons and two daughters. They are Wilfred, Selville, Ralph, Jesner, Christine and Fleurange.
Of the four quadruplets, William worked as a surveyor before retiring; Jessy has a farm; Rachel does casual work and Therese was her mother’s carer.
One of her other daughters, Christine, told “The People” that her mother never married and worked very hard to take care of them all.
Besides her duties as mother and housekeeper, she cropped cinnamon to earn enough to put food on the family table.
Later she got a job in government in the “tarmac unit” working on the roads, as this fetched more money for her growing family.
Christine recalls Ms Marie telling her that a coconut fell on her head at Anse Royale, soon after she gave birth to the quadruplets. Fortunately, she did not sustain any serious injuries, though she was very shocked.
Another daughter, Fleurange, remembers another anecdote; her mother falling off a bus in Victoria, near National House as she tried to retrieve the bag which contained her purse. She called out to the driver to stop, but as it was past a bus stop, he just slowed down and she fell onto the road, injuring her head.
Luckily, once again, there was “Plus de peur que de mal” and their mum was often spoiled by her children and their kids.
Ms Marie, once PL militant, whose funeral took place Thursday, leaves behind 11 grand-children and four great-grandchildren.
