Carrie Lee (Rachal) Harang

Carrie Lee (Rachal) Harang was born the daughter of Bruno Elwin (B.E.) Rachal and Burna (Bernadette) La Cour Rachal on Cane River, Isle Brevelle, Louisiana on August 14, 1926. She was the second oldest of ten children. The order of birth was Jeanetta, Carrie Lee, and then Isaac, Emma Lee, Martharine, Joseph, James, Philip, Peter, and Maxille. Young Carrie found that just getting to school while living in the country in the early 1930’s was an ordeal. She had to walk seven miles to school. Partially for that reason, she stop going to school in the third grade. In her early years she was deeply influenced by Christian teaching. She went to church two times on Sunday, one at the Catholic Church with her mother, and then to Methodist church with her father. So, at an early age she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior believing that he died for our sins and was raised for our justification, according to the scriptures. Carrie moved to New Orleans when she was 16. On September 19, 1946 she married Daniel Joseph Harang and later move to Los Angeles. That marriage produced two sons, Daniel Joseph Harang and Thomas Kenneth Harang. For many years Carrie attended Mother of Sorrows Catholic church in Los Angeles and worked as a seamstress. She loved to sew. After her husband passed in 1984, she remained in Los Angeles. When her mother passed in 1988, she moved back to New Orleans to care for her father until he passed in 2001. In 2005 she moved back to Isle Brevelle as a Katrina refugee and lived with and cared for aunt, Lair LaCour. (Lair is known in the Isle for creating hand-made dolls.)Then about a year later Carrie moved to Cane Garden in Natchitoches and later to Bayou Bend her final residence. She attended St. Anthony Church and was also a member of the Christian Mothers at St. Augustine for several years. Carrie was an avid Bible reader. She read the Bible through completely every year for many years. One year she read the Bible 4 times. Wow! What an example for us all! That year she read the Bible in four different translations: The Word, The King James, the Catholic Bible and the Living Bible. But what is more important is that she lived what she read and learn to love God and people in fulfillment of the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-39) In demonstration of this, the last question she asked me days before her departure from this life was, How are you doing? Even then, her chief concern was about living for others. Yes, she learn how to love! Carrie was a devoted wife and mother and she was an inspiration to many people as she pour out her love to them. Her favorite verses are Psalms 23 and 91. Carrie is survived by a host of relatives including her son, Thomas Kenneth Harang, daughter in law, Isther Harang, and their three children, Sophia, Matthew and Charity, and one grandson, Braxton. She is also survived by her daughter in law, Barbara Harang (the wife of the late Daniel Joseph Harang), and her four children, Lisa, Lori, Daniel III, and Anthony. Lori has five children: Joseph, Edward, Shah, Jr. Kenneth and Kendell. Anthony has three children, Anthony Jr, Jaylen and Kaelyn. Lori and has two grandchildren, Hazaiah (boy) and Zanaiah (girl), Daniel III has three children, Meleisa, Daniel IV, and David. In case you have been counting, in all she is survived by 7 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and 2 great, great grandchildren. In addition, Carrie is survived by her brother James Rachal, his wife Margaret and their children and grandchildren, her brother Maxille Rachal and wife Gaynell their children and grandchildren, and her sister, Emma Lee Guenon as well as her children and grandchildren. Oh yes, let’s not forget a host of other relatives, and friends.