Welcome Home, Duboise Family Members

Taken outside the Venice Homes apartment where I grew up. I remember that old Packard that no longer ran. We used to play like we were going on a trip in it and listen to the radio until the battery went dead.

This James Leonard Duboise and his wife, Jeffie Lou McFerrin Duboise, my parents. They were better known as Mama Duboise and Grampa Duboise by most people. Friends knew him as Jim, but my Mom liked calling him Leonard. I never saw him leave the house without kissing her goodbye. She often slept in, having a sickly constitution after birthing all those kids, but he never lost the habit of getting up at the crack of dawn. I used to get up early just to spend some time alone with him. He always swept the floors every morning while his coffee was making. He drank his coffee black and peppered most of his food until it was black and then added some Louisiana pepper sauce on top of that. He loved his beef stew, and coconut cake was his favorite in a dead heat with pineapple upside down cake. He was a carpenter by trade, a good one, and I’ll write more about that later. Below are almost all their children, my brothers and sisters. Explore, and enjoy Mama and Grampa Duboise’s house.

Be sure to read the stories from the right column under the Pages heading. That’s the good stuff.

These are the children of James Leonard Duboise and Jeffie Lou McFerrin Duboise orignally from Alabama, moved to Arkansas and then lived in Venice, Illinois. From left to right top: Roy, Curt, Bob, John (JW). From left to right bottom: Patty, Jane, Sandy, Myrtle, Belle. Anne was not present at her mother’s funeral due to illness, so she is missing from this photo.

When Jane’s daughter Stephanie posted some photos on Facebook to share with the family, I got the idea to create this family blog. Because the family has scattered around the country so much, I thought it would be a great idea to post photos and stories of family members to keep all of us up-to-date on family matters, accomplishments and events.  I’m looking for stories of family members and photos to post on this site. Please feel free to contact me at sandy@writingmuse.com to contribute stories and photos. My hope is that far-flung family members will find this blog and contact me and contribute to creating a comprehensive history of the descendents of my parents.

If you’ve been out of touch with the family for a long time, like I have, please feel free to reconnect with your roots and discover your extended family. Although my mother and father are gone, they have left a rich legacy of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We welcome those who married into the family as well to contribute info to expand what we know about the family. Welcome Home. We’re here for you with lots of love. We welcome other Duboise families who are related to participate as well. Let’s see what we can find out about our large and diverse family. Send us your memories of growing up, your challenges, your photos, your successes, anything of interest. I am Sandy Penny, born Sandra Duboise, 9th child of the family. I am 58 years old, live in Taos, NM and write for a living.

Who are you, where are you, what are you doing? I look forward to hearing from you.