By Susan Vela
The Cincinnati Enquirer

FELICITY - Seven children who lost their mother in a deer-car crash this week are finding strength in her memory as their friends, neighbors and fellow Christians surround them with generosity and prayer.

Clertude "Ke Ke" Bacour Bataille, 48, who lived here for eight years, touched them all - with her cheer, kindness and Christian faith. Born in Haiti, she worked hard to put food on the table and to instill prayer, morals and the will to succeed in her children.

That faithful devotion paid off. All seven seem destined for success, which comforts them days after their mother, a devout member of Bethel United Methodist Church, died in a wreck along Ohio 133 in Tate Township, Clermont County. Their father, Joseph, has been doing missionary work in Haiti while Mrs. Bataille and her children lived here in Ohio. Mrs. Bataille worked for the J.W. Harris Co. in Mason.

"Our mother, apart from God, is the single most important person in our lives. She was an unbelievable woman," the children said in a statement. "Our mother was always our strength. Now we have to find it in ourselves and each other. We are all very much on our way to do great things. We hope we make her proud by living our lives as she would have wanted us to."

Mrs. Bataille's children are: Weguens and Rose, who attend Wilmington College; Feguens, who is at the University of Pittsburgh's medical school; Gethro, a Marine stationed in Okinawa, Japan; Robenson, who attends the University of South Florida; Joseph ("Junior") who has a 4.0 grade-point average as an 11th-grader at Felicity-Franklin High School; and Judith, a ninth-grader who excels in athletics and academics.

"They are really special kids (and) exemplary human beings. They are the living testaments to their mother's work," Principal Jeff Weir said. "She was a very hard-working woman, but she always made time to be involved with the children. She was devoted to her children and grounded them in very strong Christian beliefs. They're going to use what she worked to instill in them ... and carry on from there."

Mr. Weir expects to dismiss more than 100 children at 2 p.m. Tuesday. It will be an hour before Mrs. Bataille's funeral, which many want to attend. Many at the school have contributed toward a trust fund for the Batailles.

"We're not just a small school. We're a close-knit community. People really come together to help each other out. We have been right there with them through the whole thing," Mr. Weir said.

Bethel United Methodist Church is paying for funeral arrangements. Keith Luke, an associate pastor, rushed to Junior's and Judith's sides when he learned of Mrs. Bataille's death. The children were returning home from church when they saw an Ohio State Highway Patrol vehicle in their drive Tuesday evening.

"They're holding up pretty well," he said. Mrs. Bataille "was the most humble person I've ever known. She's the closest person to a saint that I have ever known. ... To know her children would be to know that as well."

Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. Monday at Bethel United Methodist Church, 402 W. Plane St. Funeral services will begin 3 p.m. Tuesday at the church. Burial will follow at Tate Township Cemetery.

To contribute to the Bataille family trust fund, send checks to New Richmond National Bank, Bataille Trust Fund, P.O. Box 601, Felicity, OH 45120.

E-mail svela@enquirer.com