Remembering Betty White: Carnival and children reigned supreme for jeweler

People may know Betty White for her jewelry shop in Houma, however White’s crave for festivity and adventure is what her family remembers most about her.

White was part of the Krewe of Cleopatra, Night Twirlers and Krewe of Hycinthians, even serving as queen one year.

Her love for the Carnival came from her family.

Her father, Easton Duplantis, served as king of the Krewe of Terreanians. Her mother, Marie Dubois Duplantis, served as a maid, and her two sisters, Josephine “Jo” Howell and Norma Rhodes, also served as queen.

Carnival was a staple for the Duplantis family. It was also the beginning for the White family.

Milton was playing baseball for the Houma Indians of the Evangeline Baseball League when he was asked to serve as a duke.

Milton had one condition if he was going to participate, standing with the girl he would eventually marry.

“He told them that the only way he was going to be in the Carnival was if he was ‘with that girl’ and pointed at my mom,” their son Rory White said. “They paired them up, and that is how they met.”

Upon meeting each other, the maid and duke saw enough in each other to start dating, but some people were not as keen on the idea.

With Milton being from New Orleans and a baseball player, Easton had doubts about them as a couple.

“My grandfather had to check him out first so he called a priest at Holy Rosary to check up on my dad because that priest knew a priest in New Orleans where my dad was a parishioner. When that priest called back my grandfather said he didn’t know if mom was good enough for him,” son Kent White said.

It turned out that they were good enough for each other.

Betty and Milton eventually got married and had four sons, Kent, Rory, Timmy and Wayne White. Wayne died Dec. 5, two days prior to his mother.

“I think it will be hard Christmas Day when we all get together. We always gathered for the holidays,” Kent said. “We will remember the good times and how each of them contributed to those times. We have a strong family, and we will help each other cope with the loss.”

Many of the good times came away from home.

“Mom cherished family time and traveling was an opportunity to spend quality time together,” Kent said.

The family has been on countless trips including a car ride from Louisiana to California with stops at The Alamo, Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and the Redwood Forest in California.

The Whites went to Disney World the first year it opened.

The mishap of their first family trip to Mexico is what stands out to Rory, Kent and Timmy White.

The trip was memorable, but getting to their hotel was an absolute nightmare starting with the plane ride.

It was the first time flying together with the entire family, and the last five minutes of the flight was brutal because of turbulence, according to Kent.

“We free fell for what seemed like a long time when we were trying to land at the airport, so that was an experience,” he said.

Once they landed, the family crammed into a taxi, headed for the hotel and was halted by some activity on the road.

There was a parade going on several blocks from the hotel, which stopped them from getting where they needed to go. Anxiously wanting to get there, they hopped out of the taxi.

“My mom and dad tried talking to the cab driver, but he did not speak English so we hopped out of the taxi and grabbed our luggage. We walked the last two and a half blocks to out hotel,” Rory said.

When they were not having crazy adventures with their mother, she was at all of the boys’ sporting events or cheering them on in whatever they were doing.

Rory and Kent agreed that Betty’s biggest impact on them was her encouragement. It was an everyday thing for Betty to show encouragement for her sons.

“She was always there, no matter the situation,” Kent said.

While Rory and Kent raved about their mother’s willingness to support them, Timmy said the biggest impact she made on his life was making him understand the sense of right and wrong.

“She always made sure that we understood to do the right thing in all situations,” he said. “That is what I took from her the most.”

Jewler Betty White served as queen of Hycinthians, where she would meet her husband Milton White, who was playing baseball for the Houma Indians. 

COURTESY PHOTO