(KLFY)-- A Franklin mother who recently turned 90 says love is the most important thing. In a special edition of 90 Plus, she discussed how she found love outside of her 9 to 5.
"I'd tell them to serve the Lord, come to God, and they will live a long time," Emma Lee Chauvin said.
Chauvin and her two siblings grew up in Cameron.
"I have half-sisters and brothers," she said. "My daddy was married before."
Chauvin's mother passed away when she was 11, leaving her to be raised by her father and sister; it was a challenging time, but her resilience shone through.
When Chauvin was around 15 or 16, she started working at Club Highway 90 in Franklin.
"It was on the corner of Webber and Main Street," she said.
That's where she worked, in the dining room of the club.
"It was a club, but we had a dining room there with a kitchen," Chauvin said.
Chauvin's work ethic was unwavering. Apart from the club, she also did some babysitting from time to time.
"I wasn't a lazy person," she said. "I worked all the time."
When Chauvin was 17, she met the perfect guy to marry.
"My daddy had to sign a marriage license," she said.
Her husband, Gerald Chavin, was a lounge bartender and drove a taxi.
"He said I'm going to be off," she said. "The next time you get off, I will come to meet you. I went to work the next day, and he came and took me home."
Chauvin said her husband passed away after 39 years of marriage because of health-related heart problems.
"I was standing next to his bed when he died in Thibodaux," she said.
They had three kids, who are now grown up and dedicated to caring for her.
"I had a good life, I can say that," she said.
Chauvin was ready to retire from running her grocery store when the owner of another store offered her a tempting proposal.
"He said why don't you come to work for me? So I did it part-time, from 530 to 130. That was at Garden City stores; I worked there for seven years," she said.
Chauvin said she had a blast at her 90th birthday party.
"I have never seen a birthday party like Saturday," she said. "Our church's kitchen is pretty big, and it was completely full."
It's lovely that she fondly recalls how people told her she's likable.
"That's all that counts is to be loved by everybody," Chauvin said.
Chauvin made it clear to her guests that they shouldn't bring anything to the party, not even a single thing, nada.
"We told them no presents. All we wanted was for them to be present," she said while laughing.
If Chauvin could have one more extraordinary experience, she would love to go to Branson, Missouri. She has been there 38 times!
"I would go again if I got a chance," she said.
