Mrs. Rosetta T. Diggs

Published 12:00 am Saturday, September 30, 2023

A home-going celebration of life for Mrs. Rosetta T. Diggs, 100, the former Rosetta Thompson, will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at Mount Calvary Baptist Church, 414 Weeks St., New Iberia, with Rev. T. J. Andrus officiating and Rev. Jason Rex Toliver as the eulogist.

Entombment will follow at Holy Family Mausoleum, 28507 N. Curtis Lane in New Iberia. 

Visitation hours will be observed beginning at 8 a.m. until the time of the service on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at Mount Calvary Baptist Church. 

Until this month Mrs. Diggs had the distinction of being the oldest member of her family and her church. She also was the oldest Southern University alumna in the nation.

Mrs. Diggs lived a long and very full life, joyfully adapting to the changes that 100 years brought about. Looking back she saw her mode of transportation go from walking along River Road, through being on horseback and cruising the river on boats; from riding in cars to owning her own car; from traveling on trains to finally flying in airplanes. Her means of  communication went from snail mail to e-mail; and from operator assisted phone calls on party lines to Siri and FaceTime. Her news came to her first by hand written letters and community grapevines, then by newspaper and radio, followed by black and white TV that shut off at 10 p.m., to color TV and cable news networks that gave instant news from around the world 24 hours a day. She was able to ignore an increasing amount of misinformation that came through the internet. 

Growing up at a time when strange fruit could sometimes be seen in southern trees, Rosetta never let the hateful words or deeds of others stop her from sharing God’s love and loving God’s people, whether they looked like her or not. Age, race, gender, political and religious affiliations all might be used to describe a person but she never let them be used to hinder her relating to that person.

Her willingness to embrace change, her love  of all of God’s people and her faith in God uniquely prepared Rosetta for the path God called her to travel in life. After graduating from Southern University she moved to New Iberia and worked as a home demonstration agent in Iberia and St. Martin parishes. She married the love of her life, Dr. George W. Diggs Sr. They were together for a little over 63 years until his death in 2012. Rozee and Will, as they called each other, were the proud parents of six sons and one daughter. Rozee was a soft spoken woman but she didn’t have to raise her voice to speak with authority. Her children most frequently called her Mama Dear. She made each of her children feel like he or she was her favorite. She loved her children unconditionally and always wanted what was best for them. But that desire for the best did not stop at her doorstep. She wanted the best for all children in the community. 

1 Samuel 10:7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

Mrs. Diggs was a very active member of her community and her church. She was active in the Civil Rights movement, not because it was politically correct to do so, but because she wanted every person to be treated the way that God said we should treat others. Before “What Would Jesus Do” became a popular trend, she lived it. 

Mrs. Diggs saw a need for early childhood education in her community and the surrounding areas so she wrote a grant to bring Head Start to Iberia Parish. Then she wrote seven more grants that funded Head Start in seven nearby parishes. She was a long time director of the Iberia, St. Martin and Lafayette Parish programs. As a Baptist she successfully reached out to the Catholic Church to house several Head Start centers. As a black woman she successfully reached out to the community so that Head Start staff, volunteers and children served were well integrated racially. As a Democrat she successfully reached out to Republican city council members to support Head Start in their districts. 

Rosetta was a positive force for change. She never saw obstacles, only opportunities. That made her a good fit as a board member of the SMILE Community Action Agency. It also made her a good fit for the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority which she pledged while on Southern’s campus. Seeing the good that Deltas did, she became a founding member for the Iberia and Lafayette chapters. 

Once she retired she worked in a local community health clinic to organize and bring it back into compliance with government regulations.  After completing what she felt her assignment there was, she retired again only to find a need in the community public housing that she could address. She was always doing something to help others, even if it was on a personal level.

As a member of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, over the years, Sis. Diggs served in several capacities. First, she made sure her growing family got to the 6:30 a.m. service followed by Sunday School each week. For a long time she served as the church’s recording and financial secretary. She established a summer enrichment program to help improve math and reading skills for the young people in the church and in the community. She also helped organize the Annual Black History Program to teach our youth about the past while encouraging them for the future. 

1 Corinthians10:10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

Mrs. Diggs was always positive, smiling and uncomplaining.  Her smile would brighten up your day and her positive words would encourage you. She was a good judge of character and was quick to see the good in others. She loved God and trusted Him completely. She rested in Him and walked by faith. As a result she was blessed never to suffer any pain, never to have any reason to complain, even unto her death.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

If you knew Rosetta Thompson Diggs, even for a short time, you knew she had two signature sayings. If something surprised or amazed her she would say just what she said when she realized she had lived 100 years: “You’ve got to be kidding!” And if you did the least little thing for her, you would hear “Merci beaucoup!” She was always so appreciative of everything. In bad situations she would find the good that we could thank God for.

The life Rosetta Diggs lived produced good fruit in the lives of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews and everyone who knew her. And they rise up and call her blessed! 

Those who will greatly miss and cherish her memories are her two brothers and two sisters, Newton Thompson Sr., Ethel Lee Henderson, Elnora Brown and Marcus Thompson; her seven children and their spouses, George Diggs Jr., Joseph and Sandra Diggs, Cheryl and Alfred Lewis, Carl and Marsha Diggs, Edward and Shirley Diggs, Robert and Candice Diggs, Paul Diggs and Van Whitaker; a great-niece who is like a daughter, Roxene and Tim Kastens; 25 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; many more nieces, nephews, other family and friends.

Preceding her to eternity are her devoted husband Dr. George Diggs Sr.; daughter-in-law Eva Diggs; siblings and in-laws Bishop Joseph A. and Carrie Thompson, Willie and Helen Thompson, Annie Belle and Walter Malloy, Edward Thompson, Shirley Thompson, Irene Thompson, Mervin Henderson Sr., Edith and Joseph North, Jane and Marshall Stokes Sr.; nieces and nephews Gwendolyn Thompson, Wesley Thompson and David Thompson Sr.

Condolences may be expressed at www.fletcherfuneralhomes.org.

Arrangements are entrusted to Fletcher Funeral Home, 337-369-3341, 609 W. Admiral Doyle Drive, New Iberia, LA 70560.