- Date Of Birth: April 12, 1943
- Date Of Death: April 1, 2022
- State: New Jersey
Luce Theus was born on April 12, 1943, to Lucrese Baron and Leon Theus. In her earlier years, Luce was raised by her godmother and grandmother Lady Clemence Theus. She attended and graduated from Le Soeur de Notre Dame Du Perpetuelle S’ecour School in Port-au-Prince. During her teenage years, Lucy would join her siblings and reside with her father and his wife, Carline. She was later wed to Joseph Jacques and even though she did not have any biological children, she was a mother to the children of all her brothers and sisters, family and friends.
In 1974, in search of creating a better life, Luce flew into the United States to join her sister Paula Theus Maurice and her husband Dr. Raymond Maurice. She lived with them at 14 Bay Street Montclair, NJ.
In 1975, she again joined Paula and Raymond in East Orange, NJ. Luce and was a part of the fabric of the family. She gave love and support in raising and caring for her nieces and nephews Marlene, Marc, John, Elie, Leon, Mireille, the late Raymonde and Paulette, Rachel and the youngest of the family, Esther. She was also the caregiver for her immediate and great-nieces and nephews, her godchildren and for the children of her friends. Lucy was a very independent woman. She didn’t drive but would get to wherever she needed to go. She was known to catch the bus to Irvington Center, which she would call “The Center”, to pick up gifts and anything she felt was needed at home.
Because the entire family longed to spend time with her, she had no choice but to equally share her love. Plenty of her days and hours were spent via long weekends and months with her godchildren and sisters Claudette, Myrtha, Marie, Nicole and Dadie and niece Edith Perez. Traveling from East Orange to Irvington to Brooklyn to Sayreville, Queens and Miami, all to give a little bit of herself to those she loved.
Luce was very fashionable and loved to wear gold jewelry and purses. She had every color and style imaginable. In the Maurice household, Luce’s signature dish was Labouille. Her favorite food was sauce-pois-rouge and boiled plantains. She would sometimes freeze it for days and eat it without any rice.
In 2003, Luce was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis and suffered with lots of pain but pushed through every day. Her outpouring of love resounded to several of her favored charities such as Feed the Children, Alliance of Christian Jews and The Wounded Warriors.
In January 2022, Lucy was hospitalized due to being incoherent. On her better days, Luce sang and praised the Lord through her pain and would respond back with, “I love you”, “Mwen pa plus Mal”.
In March 2022, she was moved to the Alaris Nursing home where she later died on Friday, April 1, 2022. Luce was remarkable, tough-skinned and loving and will be truly missed. We are comforted by the thought that she is now in the hands of God and enjoying her time with her the late siblings Jacqueline, Jocelyn, Allude Bellegarde, Jean Theus, her mom and dad General Baron and Leon, stepmother Carline and her nieces, Raymonde and Paulette Maurice.
Luce is survived by her sisters Paula, Marie, Gladys, Claudette, Nicole, Josette. Her brothers Fritz, Ti-Leon, Marc-Ernest, and the entire Theus and Maurice family, a host of great and great-great nieces and nephews, cousins and friends.
