About

Jestina Croute was born to Pearlie Tanner Jones and Walter Jones.  She was born and raised in Big Cane, Louisiana.  She is the mother of seven daughters and two sons:

Eastern Croute

Dira Croute

Shirley Cannady

Bertha Croute

Betty Drummer

Jessie Croute

Joycie Croute

Priscilla Jacobs

James Croute

She has a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren who she loves. 

She is well known for her faith in God and prays fervently.  She is a member of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Simmesport, LA.

One of the many things she is known for is her cooking.  She has baked many cakes and pies through the years.  She would can figs (made from her fig tree) and give them to family and friends in the community.  Some memorable dishes she has made throughout the years have been gumbo, okra, berry dumplings, and smothered chicken, just to name a few.

Grandma’s Hands is so fitting a song.  With those hands, she supported and raised 9 children.  She delivered and helped to deliver babies in the community at a time when medical resources were not as readily available to people of certain backgrounds.  If any of her family were sick, she knew just the old home remedy to get them healed in no time.  She would whip up a hot tidy on the stove ASAP if needed.  She would break figs off the tree and use the fig sap for several healing properties.  People would call on her to ask what to do for certain ailments and she would know just what to do.

With those hands, she also worked in fields, completed domestic duties, and worked in the service capacity on the job and in the community. 

Something most memorable about her is how sharp her memory is.  She always remembers others and thinks of them.  She is known to have a big heart and a big smile.  A page could never hold all that she is, but it is a start.