Deaths - April 17
STANLEY LEE ALFRED
September 11, 1959 - April 9, 2008
Funeral services will be held for Stanley Lee Alfred, 48, of Houston, Texas, at St. Paul Baptist Church in Ville Platte at 1 p.m., Saturday, April 19. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Mr. Alfred died at 6:47 a.m., Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at his residence.
Survivors include his parents, Jimmie Alfred and Leona Alfred; one sister, Phyllis M. Alfred Batiste; and five brothers, Louis Alfred, Patrick Alfred, Rev. Michael Alfred, Frantz Alfred and Quan Alfred.
Rev. M.L. Alfred will officiate.
A Peaceful Rest Funeral Home of Houston, Texas, will be in charge of arrangements.
LEONA DEVILLE FONTENOT
November 5, 1926 - April 14, 2008
A memorial service will be held for Leona Deville Fontenot, 81, of Ville Platte, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Ville Platte at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, April 19.
Retired from Evangeline Bank, Ms. Fontenot died Monday, April 14, 2008.
Survivors include one son, David Keith Fontenot and his wife, Lisa; five grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Isaac “Charlie” Fontenot; one son, Robert Brett Fontenot; and one grandson, Joseph Fontenot.
ALINE ROBERIE FORET
Funeral services were held for Aline Roberie Foret, 96, of Ville Platte, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Ville Platte at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 16. Burial followed in the Sacred Heart Mausoleum.
Mrs. Foret died at 11:50 p.m., Monday, April 14, 2008, at Ville Platte Medical Center. Survivors include one son, James A. “Billy” Foret and his wife, Marie, of Faubourg; one daughter, Beryl Bolton and her husband, Robert, of Faubourg; six grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Condolences to the family may be sent to www.lavillefuneralhome.net.
LaVille Funeral Home of Ville Platte was in charge of arrangements.
LORETTA J. MANUEL FONTENOT
July 18, 1934 - April 14, 2008
MAMOU - Funeral services were held for Loretta J. Manuel Fontenot, 73, of Mamou, at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Mamou at 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 16, 2008. Burial followed in the Reed Cemetery.
Ms. Fontenot died at 5:43 a.m., Monday, April 14, 2008, at Savoy Medical Center. She was a Eucharistic minister and lector at St. Ann’s Catholic Church. She also was a volunteer for the prayer line and gave communion to the sick and shut-ins.
Survivors include her husband, Ozeman “Bob” J. Fontenot of Mamou; two sons, William “Billy” Fontenot and his wife, Jolene, of Youngsville and Todd Fontenot and his wife, Gwen, of Maurice; four daughters, Gail Reed of Opelousas, Vallery Twedell of Mamou, Lynn Wilson and her husband, Jim, of L’anse Meg and Rella Romero and her husband, Ritchie, of Maurice; 15 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Wesley and Denna Manuel; one son, Nick Fontenot; one brother, James Manuel; one granddaughter, Krystal Reed; and one great-grandson, Noah Perkins.
Father Josh Guillory officiated.
Ardoin’s Funeral Home of Mamou was in charge of arrangements.
EVANGELINE ALFRED
May 29, 1916 - April 11, 2008
Funeral services will be held for Evangeline Alfred, 91, of Ville Platte, at St. John Baptist Church in Ville Platte at 12 noon, Saturday, April 19. Burial will follow in the St. Paul Baptist Church Cemetery.
Ms. Alfred died Friday, April 11, 2008, at Acadian Medical Center in Eunice.
Survivors include four daughters, Willia Mae Cullivan, Linda B. Jack and her husband, LeRoy, and Lena R. Johnson and her husband, Luke, all of Ville Platte, and Cindy Guillory and her husband, Edmond, of Houston, Texas; one son, Henry L. Alfred and his wife, Evelyn, of Ville Platte; seven sisters, Ezola Godfrey, Orelia Griffith, Dena Williams, Lee Esther Harrison and Isabella Rogers, all of Ville Platte, Angeline Frank of Lake Charles and Ernestine Jones of Baytown, Texas; 21 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; six great-great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ben Alfred Sr.; three daughters, Rose Mary Alfred, Sandra Alfred and Linda Kay Alfred; two sons, Ben Alfred Jr. and Wilson Alfred; one brother, Charles Harrison; and two sisters, Ciella Harrison and Hazel Alfred.
Rev. Luke Johnson will officiate.
Williams Funeral Home of Ville Platte will be in charge of arrangements.
SISTER AMELCA MANUEL
SARATOGA, Calif. - Sister Amelca Manuel, Religious of the Sacred Heart, died April 14, 2008, at Our Lady of Fatima Villa in Saratoga, California, at the age of 97.
The second daughter of Elde and Amelca Manuel, she was born seven months after the tragic death of her father. Two years later, her mother married Albert LaFleur, a successful farmer in Belaire Cove, and gave birth to eight more children, who grew up helping out on the farm, sharing many memories of happy days together playing games and driving by horse and buggy to school.
The LaFleurs, devout Catholics, sent their four youngest children to the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau for a year of preparation for First Communion. Sister Manuel recalled that on her First Communion Day, drawn by the love of the Heart of Christ and cloister, she resolved to become one of the sisters. At age 22, she entered the Society of Sacred Heart, where she began a life’s work of kitchen ministry, knitting and sewing for 40 years in a variety of midwestern and southern localities.
On April 16, 1996, she retired at Oakwood, California, and within the last year joined a number of sisters who resided at Our Lady of Fatima Villa in Saratoga. There, in the company of three of her sisters, she died peacefully Monday, April 14. Her funeral will be held in the Oakwood Chapel Saturday, April 19, 2008. Her three nieces, Freida Fusilier, Patty McCauley and Marie Moreau will attend.