Tax credit changes will cost the industry
May 20, 2015
Georgia Hebert
May 21, 2015
Charles Mack Sr. was a man of conviction with an immutable sense of duty to his community.
He served on the Lafourche Parish Community Action Agency Advisory Board for many years, some of which as the board’s president. During his life of service he also served with the NAACP, Mack served as a catechist for many years, a faithful Catholic himself, bringing the flesh of Christ to many in Lafourche Parish unable to go to mass themselves.
He was even awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, meaning “For Church and Pope,” which is the highest medal that can be awarded to the laity by the church.
Charles’ contributions to his community ranged from large to small. He was an electrician by trade and would often help fellow community members who were not be able to afford it by offering his electrical services at no charge, daughter Rachel Mack said.
Born in 1932, he had worked in various fields, from electrical work to TV repair, from working for First National Bank to teaching religion at St. Joseph and St. Luke Catholic churches for many years.
Most notable, of course, was his time served on the LPCAA.
Charles met his wife, Elnora Coulon Mack, in the early 1960s and eventually had 13 children together. They had an affectionate relationship. She would cook him separate meals that he could stomach when his ulcers would act up.
“My father was the type, for me, was to try to teach us and tell us about things in life before we went through them to avoid making those mistakes,” Rachel said.
“A majority of the time, what he would say was truthful,” said his daughter, Jacqueline Mack. “He was very wise.”
Though there were times when she didn’t follow her father’s advice and would eventually learn the hard way that her father was right.
Mack was also a powerful orator who encouraged people to do good work and be active participants in their communities.
“When you’d listen to him, you would hear the wisdom of age,” said Rev. Al Carter, minister at St. Luke Catholic Church in Thibodaux. “You would hear somebody who experienced a lot in life and wanted to encourage you to be the best you could be, not just for yourself, but the best you could be for your community.”
Ask anyone who knew him and one of the first things they would say about Charles was that he would not spare anyone the truth: He was a straight shooter that spoke his mind without sugar-coating what he said.
He spoke with conviction and commanded the respect and full attention of all who heard him speak.
A little known fact about Charles Mack was that he was a hemophiliac.
Hemophilia is a rare genetic disorder where a person’s blood lacks the blood-clotting proteins necessary to stop bleeding. Small cuts are not that big of an issue, but a gusher that to most of us would be an inconvenience would be a life-threatening emergency for him.
When he was born in the Depression Era, the life expectancy for a hemophiliac was 19 years. Now, children born with the malady can live a largely normal life.
He would receive treatment at the Louisiana Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders at the Tulane University School of Medicine.
Registered Nurse Karen Wolfe treated Charles for 35 years at the center. She said Charles was one of the oldest living hemophiliacs, but Charles liked to say that he was the oldest.
“He persevered and lived through a lot of situations that would have taken the life of others, for sure,” Wolfe said.
Charles never missed an educational event at the center and he always spoke to groups of hemophiliacs young and old.
He would encourage parents to bring their children to the center, never speaking negatively of his condition.
It’s just the type of man he was.
Wolfe said that he was always uplifting, always positive.
“I don’t think that at any time that I knew him to say anything negative about anybody. It was always positive. It was always encouragement. It was always things that you could take with you and chew on it later and it would make sense. It wasn’t just something that he would’ve said. It was who he was.”
Charles Mack Sr. speaks to a crowd at St Luke Catholic Church after a Run for Christ event. Mack, an excellent orator, had a commanding prescence when speaking.
