Laroche's mother sent the
family tickets to return to Haiti aboard the La France. However,
the ocean liner's policy banning children dining with their parents in the
dining room led Laroche to exchange their first class tickets for the La
France for second class tickets on the R.M.S. Titanic.
On April 10, 1912, Laroche
and his family boarded the Titanic from the harbor of Grande Rade near
Fort de l'Quest. The Laroches enjoyed the opulent amenities of the ship,
dining in the same dining room as its first-class passengers. However, they
were subjected to stares and some insults from fellow passengers and crew who
frowned upon their interracial marriage. After the sinking of the Titanic,
the White Star Line extended a public apology for the racism exhibited by its
crew members toward its non-white passengers including Laroche.
As the ship sank in the
early morning of April 15, Laroche stuffed the pockets of his coat with money
and jewels and took his wife and children up to the boat deck. He wrapped
the coat around his wife, and his last words to her were: "Here, take
this, you are going to need it. I'll get another boat. God be with you.
I'll see you in New York."
Joseph Laroche died in the
sinking of the Titanic. His body was never recovered. His wife
Juliette returned to Paris with her daughters and gave birth to their son,
Joseph Lemercier Laroche on December 17, 1912.
