Belle was born on November 13, 1931 to parents Adna and Edith Ellender and was raised in Hackberry, LA. She graduated from Hackberry High School and later moved to Johnson Bayou where she married her husband of 60 years, Alvin Trahan. They raised 5 children in a small home, which included a small grocery store next to their house. They added on to their home over time to accommodate their growing family. They raised their own cattle and loved tending their garden to share with others. She attended her kids’ ballgames faithfully and worked in the school concession stand when her children were in school.
MawMaw Belle, as she was known by everyone, taught Catholic Catechism (CCD) for nearly 50 years, and for 10 of those years, she taught out of her home. She cooked scrumptious meals for her large family every Sunday, and all looked forward to gathering at her house every week after Mass. Her grandchildren remember spending many weekends at her house where they would bake tea cakes with her, sip hot tea, enjoy extra-large pancakes and the best buttered toast to be dipped in rich chocolate milk. She would teach them the books of the Bible, often quizzing them to make sure they retained it. She enjoyed listening to religious music and teaching these songs to her grandchildren.
She loved to sew and made most of her own dresses throughout her life. Being the modest woman that she was, she believed the store-bought dresses were too revealing. She also loved planting flowers. She kept a neat and clean flowerbed and yard, often pushing mowing the grass herself. She loved all flowers, especially her red spider lilies.
She had a beautiful handwriting and a gift for poetry. She kept many notebooks with hand-written prayers and poems, often memorizing her poems and reciting them to her grandchildren. Her poems often told a story of a moral lesson to be learned.
Completely selfless in nature, she found her greatest joy in Jesus, in her family, and in being charitable to others. She led the Rosary before Mass for many years until she was no longer physically able to attend. She kept a handwritten prayer list which would travel with her everywhere. She was a prayer warrior and would pray faithfully for anyone in need. She wore her brown scapular devoutly and recited her rosary daily. When she could still walk well, she would walk to daily Mass. Though she was the saintliest woman to anyone that who knew her, toward the end of her life she repeatedly asked those around her to “please pray for me to be a better Christian”. She embodied how to truly and fully live the life you are called by God to live. Even when her mental faculties began to fail her, she still very well believed in the power of prayer.
Belle is preceded in death by her parents, Adna and Edith Ellender; her husband, Alvin Trahan; a son, James Donnell Trahan; two brothers, Robert and Roy Ellender. She is survived by her one daughter, Cindy McGee (Sonny); three sons, Kenny Trahan (Khristy), Glenn Trahan (Angie) all of Johnson Bayou, and Tim Trahan (Denise) of Bridge City, TX; one daughter-in-law, Anne Trahan, of Johnson Bayou; one brother, Ira K. “Buddy” Ellender of Hackberry; two sisters, Ruby Lee Gauley of Pearl River, LA and Delores McQueen of Orange, TX; 24 grandchildren, 49 great grandchildren, and 2 great great grandchildren.
We want to say thank you to all who have sent flowers, prayers and words of comfort through phone calls, texts, and Facebook. Special thank you to Father Minz, Father Rommel, and Brother Jack Gandy; Heart of Hospice, especially Shannon and Angelica, Regina Bougie and the Johnson Bayou Rural Health Clinic; Cameron Parish Ambulance District 2, especially Mendy Jinks White; Johnson Bayou Fire Department, Cameron Parish Sherriff Department for their dutiful care over the years. We would also like to thank Juanita Cox with Hixson Sulphur-Memorial Funeral Home for the care and compassion in our time of need.
The family appreciates your love and compassion during this time and invites you to leave a favorite memory or sentiment of condolences at www.hixsonfuneralhomes.com. The family will have a private visitation and service.
