Athalie Generes Macgowan

Birth date: Jul 17, 1922 Death date: Apr 7, 2019

Athalie Generes Macgowan, age 96, a resident of Covington for over 35 years, passed away at 10:30 p.m. Sunday, April 7, 2019. She was born on July 17, 1922 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Athalie was the beloved wife of the late Evande Read Obituary

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Julie Fernandez

337w ago

It truly broke my heart to hear that Ms.Athalie passed away. I hadn't gotten to speak to her for the past few months and that saddens me so. I always felt so close to her. She was such a wise woman and boy did she know the market! When I first started at Merrill Lynch she knew more than I did about it! Over the last 23 years that I have been here we have grown to be true friends and I'm truly going to miss her. We have had many great conversations about politics, religion and life. I wish I would have been able to talk to her one more time. Vicki.......if you need my help with anything, you can call me 504-586-7680. - Julie

Philip Seghers

338w ago

Shelby, sorry for your loss.

Philip

Laurie Metevier

338w ago

I have known Ms. Athalie since 1991. I began working for her and her husband house/pet-sitting after they went on a vacation and their home was broken into! I sat many, many times when she and Mr. Van went on their many adventures hiking, biking, square-dancing, skiing and playing cards. After Mr. Van died I started helping her more and more with household problems like changing a faucet, light fixture, etc.

Ms. Athalie and I became very good friends and although she was VERY headstrong and independent, we stuck together through the years. Of late, I have taken care of her as a nurse through home health. This was often difficult as she would not always think of me as a professional and just recently told me "You are only an RN!".

Ms. Athalie was generous to a fault and if you said you or somebody else was in need she was fast to offer help and oftentimes would say "money means nothing to me". She has helped many people out over the years with loans and gifts and I want to thank her for her kindness. She thought nothing of it. She was one of the most intelligent people I have ever met and had a mind like a steel trap nearly to the end. She taught me many things over the year.

The memory of her that sticks out most is when about 8 years ago, after having a hip replacement she and I took a trip to her time share in Fontana, NC. She had the hip replaced 8 months earlier. She and I were hiking a trail in the Joyce Kilmer Forest and I was in the lead because she had just made me get in front, when I heard that distinct rattle and right in front of me on the path was a fairly large rattlesnake and he was coiled to strike. If she would have been in the front we don't think she would have heard the rattle. She and I finally got him off the trail and we continued on with our 2 mile hike. She was about 88 at the time!! Unbelievable!

I will miss her greatly. It is truly like loosing my mother again. She has been a good friend and I know now she is at peace and with Mr. Van.

Love,
Laurie Metevier

Vicky Clelland

338w ago

"I can't live with you and I can't live without you" were the most frequent words I heard coming from Ms. Athalie's mouth. We met about eight years ago after she had her yard professionally landscaped and needed a gardener to maintain it. She hired a gardener, but I think she and God had other plans in mind for me. I did only gardening for about a year, then gradually she pulled me inside saying "can you change my sheets, mop my floors, or drive me to an appointment"? Then it eventually included, "can you help me with a shower, take care of my mail, make my lunch", etc, etc.

Oh, how I will miss her. She became a huge part of my life. The last year and a half I was at her house daily, unless I was out of town or sick. Then, seven days a week just wasn't enough! She would always tell me "I never see you anymore, you haven't been around in days".

Over the last couple of months she just couldn't believe that she couldn't walk anymore. She would tell me frequently that she was walking all over her house and that I didn't know what she was doing when I wasn't there! I knew what was going on because she had nine devoted sitters that keep me informed every day. I did go along with her idea of trying to walk; so I would get her rolling walker, put her on her feet at the bedside, hold her upright and encourage her to take a step. She had lots of determination and would attempt to take a step, but would then say "I can't do this with you watching me".

I grew to love her very much; she became like a close family member to me. Mrs. Athalie was very generous to me and many others. She pulled me up and set me on my feet. I actually believe we pulled each other up. She will be in my thoughts and prayers until we meet. I used to tell her Ms. Athalie, "I love you" and she would say "love you back".

I want to thank all of her sitters: Linda McCann, Ofelia DeLeon, Dee Toliver Fran Carlson, Suszanne Stewart, Sandra Carlson, Dee Dee Toliver, Annisha Wing, and Vickie Banks for their patience and wonderful care.

Vicky Clelland

338w ago

Vicky Clelland

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