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John Andrus

Vermilion 4-H Achievement Day dedicated to Andrus

The 2018 Vermilion Parish 4-H Achievement Day will be held Saturday, at Kaplan High School. The day will be dedicated to John Andrus at the events opening assembly at 8:00 a.m. Achievement Day is the largest most important 4-H event of the year.
It involves about 500 4-H’ers from throughout the parish competing in 4-H contests and exhibits to demonstrate skills and knowledge gained during the club year.
It is fitting that this important event be dedicated to John Andrus, a 26 year leader of the Vermilion Parish 4-H Program.
While John was not involved in 4-H during his school years, he knew its value and made sure his three sons were involved as soon as they were eligible.
John is a cattle rancher and it was only natural that his leadership skills were directed to the 4-H Beef Project.
During the years his sons were involved, John was a fixture at all 4-H shows, clinics and planning meetings, also by lending his down to earth opinions, sharing his knowledge and giving assistance to 4-H members and agents.
He hauled cattle and taught grooming to numerous 4-H members through the years. Once his youngest son became old enough he got even more involved with the workings of the Parish Beef events.
He’s been the gateman of the Parish Beef Show and Cattle Festival Show for 15 years organizing classes and lining up exhibits. His friendly and firm guidance has kept these shows running smoothly for all these years. While most leaders drift away once their children are no longer involved John has continued to assist the youth of this parish.
He has served as bid spotter at the Parish Sale of market animals. Served on the Livestock and Overall 4-H Advisory Committees and helped start the 4-H Foundation Skeet Shoot
In addition, his leadership of the Vermilion Parish Cattlemen’s Association, 20 year board member and three term President, has helped to maintain that group’s strong support of youth beef projects. He organized Junior Shows for the Louisiana Junior Brahman Association and Louisiana Junior Braford Breeders.
John is a member and current President of the Coulee Kinney Drainage Board; was named Cattleman of the Year in 2015 and an active member of St. Alphonse Catholic Church.
He has been married to his wife Becky for 42 years and they raised three boys Josh, Jarred and Jacob.
Because of his willingness to take a leadership role in the Parish 4-H program, his enduring involvement with the 4-H Beef Project and the countless young people he has influenced it is with great gratitude and respect that the 4-H members of Vermilion Parish dedicate the 2018 4-H Achievement Day to John Andrus.

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Lana Louies Lambert

March 11, 1956 ~ March 13, 2018

ABBEVILLE — Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville honoring the life of Lana Louies Lambert, 62, who died Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at Lafayette General Medical Center. She will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery with Reverend Steve Delino officiating the services.
Lana is survived by her companion, Anthony Tabb of Abbeville; four sons, Joseph Leon Lambert, Jr. and wife Celeste of Kaplan, Wendell Ray Lambert and wife Samantha of Breaux Bridge, Jethro Tull Lambert and wife Michelle of Franklin, and Blake Stelly and wife Beth of Livonia; one daughter, Sherie Lambert of Duson; step-daughter, Latisha Tabb of Baldwin; one brother, William Leleux of Abbeville; five sisters, Barbara Bellot of Erath, Susan Stelly of Erath, Pamela Menard of Abbeville, Tammy Ketchum of Onalaska, TX, and Christine Lege of Kaplan; sixteen grandchildren; and six great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Raywood Monteaux and the former Norita Ann Andrew; one sister, Antionette Monteaux; and one brother, Kenneth Monteaux.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Friday, March 16, 2018 from 10:00 AM until 10:00 PM; Saturday, March 17, 2018 from 8:00 AM until time of services.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.

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Kirk Soileau stirs his meatless spaghetti. He has been cooking it for years.

Our Lady of Lourdes in Erath prepares for St. Joseph Altar

ERATH — The sixth annual St. Joseph Altar at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Erath will be held at Pope John Paul II Parish Hall located at 700 South Broadway Street.
Father Andre Metrejean, Pastor, will bless the altar at noon (after 11:00 AM mass) on Sunday, March 18, 2018. After a brief ceremony, explaining the history and custom of the St. Joseph Altar, the traditional meatless spaghetti and Italian cookies will be served until 8:00 PM that evening.
Monday, March 19, 2018 celebrates the feast day of St. Joseph, the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The altar will be on display from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Meatless spaghetti and cookies will be served to all visitors throughout the day. The spaghetti is meatless in observance of Lenten fast.
The St. Joseph Altar was a custom that began in Sicily, Italy in the 12th century. A severe drought and famine hit the region. After the people prayed for the intercession of St. Joseph, their patron saint, the drought ended. In thanksgiving, the people began to set up altars to St. Joseph in their homes with food to feed the poor.

Traditional Meatless Spaghetti

The traditional meatless spaghetti that serves about 300 guests has been made by Kirk and Denise Soileau since the beginning of the altar in 2013. Fr. Bill Melancon, former pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes, began the tradition of the altar.
The recipe that he gave to the Soileaus came from St. Joseph Church in Rayne. Ms. Leona Poche (Denise’s mother) was president of the Ladies Altar Society at that time. She volunteered the couple to make the spaghetti sauce. She said, “I knew they could do it!” and they certainly can.
The recipe is not for the faint of heart. It is broken down into ounces so that it is easier to measure. It requires 168 oz. of tomato paste; 315 oz. of tomato sauce; 128 oz. of diced tomatoes. Twelve pounds of onions; 3 heads of celery; 8 bunches of parsley; 16 oz. of garlic and 5 bell peppers are all hand chopped. It is important that the vegetables are not put through a food processor. The hand chopped vegetables give the consistency to the meatless sauce. The Soileaus have doctored up the recipe by adding fresh rosemary and basil from their own garden.
Walking into the Soileau’s enclosed patio, one is greeted by a little bit of Italian heaven. Kirk Soileau had the sauce cooking on an outdoor burner since 6:30 AM. He said that he will stop cooking it around 6:30 PM. It takes 12 hours to cook one batch and there are three batches to do. When his wife gets back from work, she is in charge of cooling it and putting into gallon zip lock bags. He said that through trial and error they realized it was better to cook it on an outdoor burner than in their kitchen. The first two years, they had sauce all over their kitchen.
The Soileaus have been married for 29 years and they both love to cook. Kirk said that he grew up in Ville Platte and most men learn to cook at age fourteen. Kirk is a retired supervisor for the Vermilion Parish School Board. Denise is a principal in Lafayette Parish. They are both actively involved with Our Lady of Lourdes Church. When Kirk retired in 2015, he started making the sauce during the week so that the couple could have the weekend off.
This is a massive time consuming job that the Soileau team does with much generosity of spirit. They do it to help the church and to contribute to helping the poor.
When asked how long does it take just to open up all the cans, Kirk laughed and stated, “a while because now, I have to do it by hand. We burnt up three can openers the first couple of years.” Kirk was quick to say that a lot of people volunteer in the effort of making the spaghetti possible. Several people boil the spaghetti noodles; boil the dozens of eggs; and chops all the vegetables. This way they can focus on making a truly delicious marinara sauce.
The Saint Joseph Altar relies completely on the generosity of the parishioners and neighbors that bring in all homemade bread, cookies, and cakes. It takes countless volunteers and many hours to construct and decorate the altar and serve the food. All the volunteers are working toward a common goal of helping out those in need in our community. After the altar is dismantled, all the food is donated to the poor in our community.
For more information, call the church rectory at 337-937-6888.

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David Neil Faulk

December 23, 1964 ~ March 12, 2018

ABBEVILLE — A memorial mass will be held at 10:00 AM on Friday, March 16, 2018 at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Catholic Church, 101 N. Leonard St. in Abbeville, honoring the life of David Neil Faulk, 53, who died Monday, March 12, 2018 at Vermilion Health Care Center.
David is survived by his two daughters, Ashley R. Romero and husband Jay Romero, Jr. of Maurice, and Lauren Faulk of Abbeville; one son, Darrin Faulk of Abbeville; two grandchildren, Avery Romero and Lani Romero; mother, Gaynelle B. Faulk of Abbeville; paternal grandmother, Nell Hebert; and three sisters, Kathy Faulk, Claudette Faulk, and Jan Schriefer.
He was preceded in death by his father, Paul Dallas Faulk; maternal grandparents, Claude and Celia Bernard; paternal grandfather, Whitney Faulk; brother, Randy Faulk; and infant son, Avery “A.J.” Joseph Faulk.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.

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Leonard H. Mavrinac

ERATH — A Mass of Christian Burial for Leonard H. Mavrinac, 93, will be 12:00PM Thursday March 15, 2018 in Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church with Father Andre Metrejean officiating. Interment with Military Honors will follow in Our Lady of Lourdes Mausoleum.
Visitation will be in David Funeral Home of Erath Thursday March 15, 2018 from 9:00AM until service time with recitation of the rosary at 10:00AM.
Leonard, born in Bairdford PA and a longtime resident of Erath passed away Tuesday March 13, 2018 in his residence. He was a WWII Army Veteran of the Pacific Theater who made 3 amphibious landings under fire. He also stood in the hole in the ground at Hiroshima.
He is survived by his children; Mark Mavrinac and wife Cynthia, Marsha Mavrinac Broussard and husband Steve, and Mary Ellen Mavrinac Decuir and husband Jerome; his grandchildren Douglas Mavrinac and wife Tricia, Robert Mavrinac and wife Diana, Elizabeth Mavrinac Dominguez and husband Mark, Ryan Broussard and wife Amanda, Kelly Broussard Miller and husband Nick, Claire Decuir, and Michael Decuir; his great grandchildren; Lauren Mavrinac, Kathryn Mavrinac, Robert Joseph Celentano III, Maximus Mavrinac, Chloe Mavrinac, Piper Miller, Ethan Miller, Grace Broussard, Annabel Broussard, Parker George, Danielle George, and his brother Ronald Mavrinac.
He is preceded in death by his wife of 70 years Lona “Papoo” LeBlanc Mavrinac; his parents Joseph and Margaret Georgic Mavrinac; sisters Evelyn Mavrinac, Delores Mavrinac, Yoette Mavrinac, and Trudy Mavrinac; brothers Joseph Mavrinac and Norm Mavrinac.
Condolences may be shared with family at www.davidfuneralhome.org
David Funeral Home of Erath is charge of arrangements 209 E. Putnam St, Erath, LA 70533, (337) 937-0405

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Zachary Broussard and Erath Middle School Principal Wendy Stoute.

Erath Middle’s Zachary Broussard student named finalist for ‘La. State Student of the Year’

Zachary Broussard was named a finalist in the Louisiana Students of the Year Program.
He is to be commended for his accomplishments both at school and in the community. He has demonstrated outstanding leadership skills and community involvement while maintaining high academic scores and participating in numerous extra-curricular activities.
Zack, along with six other finalists in the state of Louisiana, will compete during a day long program on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at the Department of Education in Baton Rouge.
Zachary is the son of Shane and Christine Broussard. Erath Middle School is so extremely proud of Zack.

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Warren Suire

October 19, 1926 ~ March 10, 2018

KAPLAN —Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at Vincent Funeral Home - Kaplan honoring the life of Joseph Warren Suire, 91, who died Saturday, March 10, 2018 at his residence. He will be laid to rest at Kaplan Cemetery with Reverend Mark Miley officiating the services.
He is survived by his son, Terry Suire and his wife, Kelly, of Lafayette; his daughter, Melanie Suire and her fiance’, Johnny Hebert, of Kaplan; his daughter-in-law, Cori Suire; four grandchildren, Cami Suire, Jordan Suire and his wife, Brittany, Brennen Suire, and Brittney Suire; and two great grandchildren, Valor and Christian Suire.
He was preceded in death by his son, Jamie Suire; his parents, Paul Suire and the former Lucille Romero; four sisters, Bernice “Tedo” Vidrine, Mable “Sook” Breaux, Irene Triola, and Beatrice “Beaty” Vincent; his brother, Phillip “Cush” Suire; and his special buddy, Earl Fritz.
The family would like to extend a special thanks to a good friend and neighbor, Darnell Bufford. The family would also like to thank Acadian Hospice and Palliative Care, especially Edie Morgan.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Kaplan, 300 N. Eleazar Ave., on Monday, March 12, 2018 from 10:00 AM until 9:00 PM with a rosary being prayed at 7:00 PM; Tuesday, March 13, 2018 from 8:00 AM until the services.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Kaplan, (337) 643-7276 [Service Information 225-5276]. Condolences may be sent to the Suire family at www.vincentfuneralhome.netwww.vincentfuneralhome.net.

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Abbeville Meridional

318 N. Main St.
Abbeville, LA 70510
Phone: 337-893-4223
Fax: 337-898-9022

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219 North Cushing Avenue
Kaplan, LA 70548