Veteran local coach taking assistant under wing
September 16, 2014
Smile: You’re on body camera
September 16, 2014
Most people work for money; Nell Page works for the smiles on the faces of people she’s never met.
Nell Page has worked for the Terrebonne Volunteers for Family and Community (VFC) for nearly 65 years. The 88-year-old received the Heart of VFC Award on Sept. 11.
Page is grateful for the honor, however she is quick to give credit to others.
“I had no idea they were going to do this. It was unbelievable. I did not do this alone. I am not deserving of this. None of us could do this alone. You couldn’t do this alone,” Page said. “This has been one of the best organizations I have ever belonged to.”
Page’s calling card for volunteer work comes from making flower arrangements. She volunteered at Terrebonne General Medical Center for many years where she would collect donated flowers and arrange them into bouquets, then give them to elderly patients.
“A lot of the elderly people never had visitors,” Page said. “They had been there for a long time and needed some cheering up.”
Page recollected one elderly lady with a French accent who seemed lonely. A neurosurgeon was talking to the lady when Page walked in to drop the flowers off.
The lady in bed looked at Page and in a French accent said, “Ma chère, I can’t pay you.”
Page replied, “Ma’am, there is no payment. This comes with a lot of love to cheer you up.”
At which point, the lady raised her arms and put them around Page and said, “God Bless You.”
“God has blessed me ever since,” Page said. “That is one thing that I recall in all of my time that stands out.”
“She is such a positive person. She encourages everyone to do their work and go out in the community,” Former VFC President Janelle Bonvillain said. “She always has a smile on her face, and I have never heard her say anything bad about anybody. She always looks at the good side of everything. She really has been an inspiration to a lot of the people in the organization.”
Page has volunteered for a number of organizations including Lions Club and Toys for Tots, which her deceased husband Charles Page had started.
The couple spent 61 years together and volunteering until his death in 2006.
Charles spent 40 years in the military, both in the Navy and a short time in the Marines.
The two of them raised five children: Charlene Waldrep, Charles Jr., Joey, Robert and John Page.
“He supported everything I did. He supported everything our children did. We worked together and got here,” Nell Page said. “My children are wonderful and they take care of me.”
Volunteer work seems to run in the Nell’s bloodline because she said it started with her parents and then trickled down to her children who participated in 4-H club in which Charles and Nell Page were highly active.
“We have been doing volunteer work for a long, long time. My parents taught me that. I started from the turn of the century to now,” Page said.
Page’s volunteer work has helped her make life long friends and people who admire her.
Page and her children laugh at the notion of what to do when she dies because of how many friends she has.
“We always joke that when my mom passes, we will need to rent out the Superdome just to accommodate everyone,” Waldren said.
Page is aware of the popularity she has gained throughout her 88 years and attributes it to one simple phrase.
“In order to have a friend, you have to be a friend.”
Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet presents Nell Page (center) with the Heart of Volunteers for Family and Community Award. Page has worked with the organization for nearly 65 years, according to President Mary Ann Boudreaux (at left).
