RAYNE, La. (KLFY) — In Rayne lives a man who has reached 100 years old. 

Curley Sonnier says he’s a man of few words but fond memories. Sonnier was born near Morse, Louisiana. 

“They call that place Lyons Point, that’s about three miles from Morse,” Sonnier said.

Curley shared life with three brothers and two sisters. The family’s ancestry is a mix of French and Canadian. Curley says his parents were farmers. He helped them out a bit.

“I helped my daddy farm and after that, I moved onto a big rice farm on the west side of Rayne,” he said.

Curley says the family moved to Rayne in 1941, when he was about 18 years old. A few years later, he met the woman he would marry.

“I stayed with my wife until the day she died,” he added. “We stayed together 65 years. We never separated, we never had a fight or anything.”

Curley and his wife are from the same neighborhood.

“I used to go to their house,” he said. “She would give me a lot of cake and she was very nice. They were all nice to me.”

They had three children. Curley says he proudly dedicated his life to providing for his family. He still has the car he bought his wife years ago. It’s now his keepsake. 

“I worked on that farm until 1952,” he said. “After I left there, I went to Lake Charles. I stayed out there in Lake Charles until I retired.”

In 1986, Curley threw in the towel and retired. He would travel to Lake Charles to work in an oil plant. Even today, he stands by the advice he gave his children when they were growing up. He calls them his blessings. 

“I never had a problem with my kids.”

Curley has learned the value of time. For him at 100 years old, each and every day is still worth counting.

“I got to count the days now,” he said.