Retired TPSB teacher championed adult education

If the mark of a successful life is leaving places you’ve been better for your having been there, then Della Matherne’s 98 years in Terrebonne Parish were an unequivocal success.

As an accomplished educator and a crusader of necessity well before that, the former Della Rhodes made a difference in the lives of individuals and the rescue of an important institution. Those are among the reasons loved ones and community leaders alike say it’s hard to mark the line between mourning her recent death and celebrating her life.

“She was my second-grade teacher and I can remember her stopping by my parents’ home to let them know how I was doing,” said Theresa Robichaux, now Clerk of Court for the 32nd Judicial District.

Miss Della passed at her home on Ferry Road in Bourg Saturday. But right up until the time she fell ailing – about a year ago – she kept in touch with people who mattered to her and remained active in community and family affairs.

The short version of Matherne’s story is that she taught for many years in the Terrebonne Parish school system, primarily at Bourg Elementary School.

But it is the details that establish her as a sometimes stern but always fair angel of education, although her initial life as a young woman might not have seemed pointed in that direction.

Born in Houma in 1915, Miss Della made it through 8th grade in the school system and, as a girl, made many trips from Houma to Montegut with her family. Patriarch Luke Rhodes trapped muskrats in the bayous and lakes during Depression-era days, and like many others took the whole family with him. That meant a lot of time spent out of school.

At the age of 20 she married Irvin Matherne, and moved with him to Bourg, where his family operated a dairy and raised sugar cane.

She found work on the dairy farm rough, but performed it dutifully, said her daughter, Sue Olin.

Nearly 20 years after her wedding, Miss Della attended adult classes in Houma.

Announced government plans for de-funding of the program horrified her, not only because of the effect it would have on her own education but the plans of others.

She testified publicly on behalf of public education programs, and many remember her for that, crediting her efforts with aiding its salvation.

“They were going to shut down the program and she spoke to that,” said Olin. “She was the one who said ‘You can’t do this to us.’”

The program survived and Miss Della continued. She continued night school, receiving awards for her efforts to promote education, and upon completion enrolled at Nicholls College (now Nicholls State University), earning a bachelor’s degree and eventually a master’s in elementary education.

Relatives say she developed her new career in the community she had come to love and began leaving a mark on education almost immediately.

“Without a doubt, one of the most effective, professional educators in Terrebone Parish,” Judge David Arceneaux wrote of Miss Della. “She touched the lives of thousands and will be remembered fondly for many, many years. It must be a great comfort to the Matherne family to know she was loved by many.”

In addition to regular teaching, Miss Della is well remembered for the nativity plays she produced with students at Bourg Elementary, at St. Ann Catholic Church in Bourg and Bayou Blue United Methodist Church.

Even after retirement, Miss Della continued giving to the community, serving as a museum docent for 14 years, giving tours in English and French at Southdown Plantation.

But it was in education that she made her primary mark. Theresa Robichaux and other former students say her example lives on with them in the way they treat other people and how they perform their own work.

“As far back as I can remember after she taught me, I always wanted to be a teacher,” said Connie Ledet-Matherne, who ended up marrying one of Matherne’s sons, Don. “She was a great inspiration.”

Terrebonne Schools Superintendent Philip Martin also fondly remembers Miss Della. “She was a woman of character,” he said. “Somewhat headstrong but in an admirable way. She was very family-oriented, a fine lady. When you think ‘lady,’ you would think of Miss Della.”

“She touched so many lives through her teaching, whether it was in the classroom, Southdown Museum or in the church,” said eldest granddaughter Pamela Matherne Guidry. “Her faith and hope for the betterment of her family and community never wavered.”