OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY) – Annie Fountain Delaine, 90 of Opelousas was born September of 1931.
Opelousas may be her birthplace but it’s only one destination on her life journey. “I graduated in 1950 from old St. Landry training school. My class was the first to go twelve years of class,” Delaine said.
After graduation Annie hit the road. She wanted to see what life had to offer. She moved to Lake Charles and stayed there for a few years. “l left Lake Charles, went to Chicago, and stayed 20 something years in Chicago. I left Chicago and went to Carolina; stayed a few years there and moved back to Opelousas in 1958, my husband and I,” Delaine added.
Annie was in retail. Her husband was a cosmetologist. She says a friend brought them together. “My friend introduced me to him because he was her boss. That’s how we got connected and we got married,” she explained. They were married for almost 50 years before he passed away 13 years ago this month. They spent time traveling and enjoying life. “We went on vacation for a whole month. From one end of the world to the other.”
Annie is proud of her husband. She says he was the oldest to graduate from a college he was attending at the time. He was 72 years old. “He made the Daily World paper. Who was around at that time could have seen him.” They never had children. They merely followed the path laid before them. When asked why, she replies to the question. “That’s God in control.”
Annie believes she did all she wanted to do in life and in entertainment. “I’ve been on about seven cruises. If it wasn’t a pandemic, I would have been on a cruise today.” In her down time, Annie enjoys the children she does have her nieces and nephews. “I can call on anyone of them whenever and they will see about me.”
Annie says she has a foster daughter named Debra who tries to keep up with her or maybe not. All in all, she’s living life and then some.
“She says I’m 68 and she’s 90. So, that’s the way we get along,” Delaine laughed.