A Publication for Alumnae Parents and Friends Winter 2016

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SJA Community
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On November 28, approximately 250 of an
estimated 350 descendants of Andrea Scafide
and Francesca Loiacano gathered in Bay St.
Louis, Mississippi, for a family reunion. With
dozens of graduates from St. Joseph Academies
in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Bay St. Louis
on hand, the reunion also celebrated the family’s
generational commitment to Catholic education
stretching from 1900 until present day.
Scafide Family Hosts Reunion
“Our grandparents/great-grandparents, Andrea
and Francesca Scafide, certainly valued and
worked hard to bless and instill in our family
the gift of God, faith, family and education,”
said family member Sharron Burns Buchart.
“In addition, we cannot forget how the Sisters
of St. Joseph made this difficult journey to
this faraway land to establish schools and the
integral role they have played within our family
history. Now, six generations later, the fruits of
our grandparents’ desire to pass on the Catholic
faith and tradition is reflected in us all. Catholic
education is a gift for life.”
Andrea and Francesca emigrated from Sicily
as teenagers with their families. They arrived
at the port of New Orleans in June of 1892,
but because of the yellow fever epidemic
there, they were rerouted to the port in
Donaldsonville, Louisiana.
family’s clothes as well as the shrouds for the
Bay’s Italian community.
Through hard work, Andrea acquired property,
became a successful entrepreneur and built
the family home with concrete blocks he made
from molds. (They were later used to build the
stadium at St. Stanislaus College.) Andrea and
Francesca operated a grocery and dry goods
store and ice cream parlor from the ground level
of their house. Francesca made the ice cream.
They also owned a construction company and
a farm with a pecan orchard known as one of
the best in the region. Andrea sold pecans and
produce from New Orleans to Chicago. Family
holdings also included rental properties, and
Andrea was known for his compassion when
renters couldn’t pay.
Family member Nan Murtagh reported the
reunion committee met in January for postcelebration
discussions. “We don’t get much
done but sure have fun,” she said.
In 1896, Andrea and Francesca were married
at the Ascension of Our Lord Catholic
Church in Donaldsonville, then moved to
Bay St. Louis. There, they lived at the convent
of the Sisters of St. Joseph until their first
child was born. Andrea served as the Sisters’
groundskeeper and maintenance man and
helped tend the vegetable garden. Francesca
washed and ironed their habits, sewed priest
vestments and sewed and maintained the
church’s liturgical items. She made all her
Posing in front of the Scafide home in November are reunion celebrants who are
graduates of a St. Joseph Academy. Those pictured are alumnae of SJA Baton Rouge
unless otherwise indicated. From left (first row) are Alisa Blaize Dixon ’73, Tammy
Brown Bradley ’84, Joelle Wilkinson Dehon ’03, Ali Buchart ’15, Mary Frances (Manky)
Scafide Burns ’44 (SJA Bay St. Louis), Claire Bradley ’13, Katie Callender Schaefer ’02;
(next row) Nan Murtagh, Alum by Choice/SJA faculty member, Margaret Wilkinson
Claxon ’00, Sandra Cecelia Scafide Russell ’54 (SJA New Orleans), Anna Blaize
Wilkinson ’71, Leah Blaize Balhoff ’98, Debra Brown Bourgoyne ’83, Lauren Wilkinson
Wilson ’96, Catherine Wilkinson Bergeron ’94, Charlotte Brown Jackson ’82, Dr. Julia
Blaize Wilkinson ’97, Jessica Kemmerly Wilkinson ’04, Holly Cagle Callender ’80, Lizzy
Callender ’05, Jill Cagle Barousse ’83, Alyssa Cagle ’12, and Frances (Frankie Beth)
Matherne Cagle ’60 (SJA Bay St. Louis).
Winter 2016 . 13