PEOPLE OF INTEREST
The
mom of many
Gwen Lamothe’s four youngest children are, from left, Julia, 10, Grace, 6, Gerrica, 12, and Jack, 8. The family has three children at Rosewood Magnet School,
two at Gifford Middle School, two at Vero Beach High School and three at the University of Florida. The oldest is a UF graduate serving in the Navy.
BY JANIE GOULD Growing up with eight older brothers and sisters
90
made Gwen Zorc Lamothe, 44, of Vero Beach,
know she wanted to have a large family.
“Initially, I thought a big family would be four
children,” she said with a laugh. “Then when I
had four I was pretty confident I wanted six. Then, when I
had six I would joke with people that I was going to have an
even dozen, or 10.”
She and her husband Gerry, have 11 children whose ages
range from 6 to 23. The oldest, Justin, 23, graduated from the
University of Florida with a degree in mechanical engineering
last year and is serving in the Navy. The youngest, Grace,
6, is a first-grader at Rosewood Magnet School.
Three siblings attend UF. Joshua, 22, is studying aerospace
engineering, while 20-year-old Gwendolyn is studying biochemistry.
Jordanne, 19, is a freshman who plans to major in
occupational therapy. Jeffrey, 17, is a senior at Vero Beach High
School and Jacob, 15, is a sophomore. Both play violin in the
school orchestra. Jared, 13, and Gerrica, 12, attend Gifford Middle
School. Jared plays percussion and violin and Gerrica plays
violin and flute. Two other siblings attend Rosewood: Julia, a
10-year-old fifth-grader, and Jack, an 8-year-old third-grader.
Gwen, their mom, looks as if she could be an older sibling.
She’s a runner — “just 5-Ks,” she says — who loves to go
kayaking in the Indian River, take 20-mile bike rides and
ED DRONDOSKI
enjoy nature. She’s also resumed the piano studies she gave
up years ago when she started her family.
And she works outside the home. After returning to school a
few years ago to get a master’s degree in mental health counseling,
she now does counseling at the Pace Center for Girls in Fort
Pierce. She also runs a group program for young women at Children’s
Home Society’s Youth Transition Center and is working
to involve them in mission work that she and her own children
do through a nonprofit called Youth on a Mission.
She loves art and interior design, interests she put to use
at home when she came up with themed bedrooms for her
children. One bedroom features the colors and style of Harry
Potter. Another is Gator orange and blue. She bakes a birthday
cake for each child in a theme of their choice.
She says it’s important to help children in large families establish
their individuality, so they won’t be “just another Lamothe.”
Gwen started learning parenting skills when she was a
young teen, though all of her brothers and sisters were older.
“By the time I was 13, all my siblings were having children,
so I got to practice raising my nieces and nephews,” she said.
“I spent a lot of time watching my mother handle her grandchildren
for the first time. I was very fortunate to see her
in action. I learned gentleness and always establishing trust
when they’re young. I held my babies as much as I could.”
She also sang to the babies while they nursed.
“I would dance with them too, which was a lot of rhythm,”
she said. “Maybe that’s why they like music so much.”
>>