Our first DeLavallade family re-union held in New Orleans August 6-8 of this year was a huge success and yes we did have a few glitches but all turned out well.

This was a re-uniting of two main branches of our family as the decedents are from two of the three ancestors who came to America. The families that came together are the decedents of Benjamin Pierre and Jean Michel, they included from great grands to gggggg grandchildren. Over 120 family members from across the U.S. attended the three day affair many meeting for the first time and because of this - the reunion became known as "The Union," a term coined by one family member. We all had such a good time we are planning to do it again next year in San Francisco and every two years after that.

This was a dream come true for me to finally put faces to some of the names I knew from my five years of genealogy research. It was truely a labor of love for my San Francisco and New Orleans cousins who help plan "The Union."

I have attached one of the photos taken at our "We Are Family" banquet and one from "Family Day in Joe Brown Park."

Pat Armstrong Watkins