Monique Jeanne Augustine Orliac Cordes, 92, died April 28, 2017 peacefully at the home of her daughter Elisabeth in Elgin, SC. She was the beloved wife of the late Alexander Watson Cordes, Jr.
A mass of Christian burial will be held at 12:00 PM on Saturday, May 6, 2017 at St. Mary on the Hill Catholic Church with Rev. Michael Hull serving as celebrant. Interment to follow at Westover Memorial Park.
She was born in Givry-en-Argonne, France to Docteur Eugène and Andrée Biurette Orliac. She spent her childhood in Etain, France and attended boarding school at the Lycée Sainte-Marie de Neuilly (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) where she received her first Baccalauréat in liberal arts (Latin, Greek, and German). She continued her schooling and earned her second Baccalauréat in Metaphysics and Philosophy. She entered pharmacy school in Nancy, France in 1943, but her studies were interrupted by World War II. During the war, she met her future husband a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. They were married in January of 1948 and settled in Augusta, Georgia. Through immersion and the use of a dictionary paired with an English novel, she taught herself to speak and write in fluent English. As an avid gardener and member of the garden club, she taught classes about herbs at Augusta College and to different garden clubs around the area. She survived Polio in 1954 and helped raise awareness of the disease and vaccine through chairmanship of the local chapter of the March of Dimes. She was also active in the Junior League of Augusta and as a member of St. Mary on the Hill Catholic Church. She loved to travel, especially to her native France, and spent many happy moments acting as tour guide for friends and family. She was an enthusiastic storyteller and loved to share memories of her childhood in Etain as well as, her and her family’s close encounters with danger during WWII, the hardships of the war, and how she met Watson. She was interviewed by the Library of Congress and the oral history of her experiences have been archived. Having felt that she owed so much to the Americans during WWII, one of the proudest moments of her life was when she was granted United States citizenship in 1993.
Her greatest enjoyment was being Maman to her twin daughters and Maman Nique to her five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Alexander Watson Cordes, Jr., and her son-in-law, William Lee Youngblood, Sr. She is survived by her daughters Lois (John) Owen and Elisabeth Youngblood; her five grandchildren, John (Katie) Owen, Jr., Watson Cordes (Hailey) Owen, Carter Monique (Sue) Owen, Heather (Dustin) Spencer, and William Lee (Leah) Youngblood, Jr.; seven great-grandchildren, Riley Owen, Phoebe Owen, Miles Owen, Faith Youngblood, Gabriel Spencer, Gavin Spencer, and Conner Youngblood; and her beloved dog, Brooks.
Pallbearers will be W. Lee Youngblood, Jr., Dustin Spencer, John Owen, Jr., W. Cordes Owen, Mike Reese, and Stephen Hightower.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be sent to Compassionate Care Hospice of South Carolina (Columbia, SC), St. Mary on the Hill Catholic Church, or a charity of your choosing.
A vigil for the deceased will be held at 5:00 PM on Friday evening, May 5, 2017 at the funeral home. The family will receive friends following the vigil until 7:00 PM.