Lamotte was born on June 4, 1925, in Paris, France, one of twins. She was born into a family of eight children.

“We were very poor and were always turned down to rent a decent house due to the size of our family and having very little money,” she said. “So my mother and father found an empty abandoned place that used to be a bar. There was no running water, an outhouse for the bathroom and a large yard.”

During World War II, her family lived a very difficult life, needing to change daily routines to ensure their safety.

“We had a very close family until the year 1940 when Hitler and his army invaded France,” Lamotte said. “We did not dare go outside for fear of being raped by German soldiers and we had to be very careful what we said on the streets because some of the soldiers would dress in civilan clothes and listen to our conversations.”

Madeleine Lamotte, left, and twin sister Louise Lamotte,right, are shown together in Paris as young girls around the age of 7

Life was not easy for Lamotte and her family, with tragedies a regular occurance.

“If they found one German killed by the resistance, they would round up 10 to 12 civilians to be executed, no matter if they were women, children or men,” Lamotte said.

Lamotte contracted tuberculosis. She was quickly brought to the hospital, where they treated her with the means they had available, given that German soldiers confiscated medications and vitamins.

“I remember drinking a raw egg in wine as one of the treatments,” she said.

Once Lamotte no longer tested positive, she was sent to a sanatorium to recuperate.

“I don’t know how long I stayed there but I remember the man in charge of the sanatorium saying, “The ones that can walk will have to go,'” Lamotte said. They were keeping the food and medications for the patients who were bedridden.

“They told us the Americans, British and Canadians had landed in Normandy, France, and were driving the Germans out,” she said.

So Lamotte and two others from the sanatorium began to walk together. They stopped at a nuns’ convent to stay the night. As they got closer to Paris, the girls split up. Lamotte was unsure what had happened while she was in the sanatorium and did not know what had happened to her family. When she returned to Paris, she located her mom and dad, who were living in an apartment for low income families.

Later Lamotte met her husband, Robert Tiller, who was an American soldier.

“A Jeep came by and offered my sister and I a ride to work. Soon this became a regular thing and the start of a romance,” she said.

Madeleine Lamotte and Robert Tiller were married in the 1940s and then made their way to Minot, where Tiller was from. They welcomed two children into the world, Katherine and George. Katherine is deceased and George lives in Minot.

Lamotte also has two grandchildren in North Dakota. Steven Tiller lives in Fargo with his wife, Jessie, and Katrina Sparks lives in Dickinson with her husband, Andrew, and children. Lamotte’s great-grandchildren are twins, 3-year-old Madeleine and Addison Sparks.

“I made some good neighbors and life here is very enjoyable with lots of activities and a lot of different events – dinner, birthday parties, movies and lots of other events. I love my life here. I am celebrating my 100th birthday on June 4 and, hopefully, a couple more,” Lamotte said.