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October 31, 1924 - May 26, 2024

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held for Della Brasseaux Savoy on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, at St. Mary Mother of the Church in Lafayette at 3 p.m.. Reverend Cedric Sonnier will be the Celebrant of the Funeral Mass and conduct the funeral services. Reverend Andrew Schumacher will serve as Con-Celebrant, with Deacon Kyle Polozola assisting. Visitation will be observed in St. Mary Mother of the Church from 1 p.m. until time of services. A Rosary will be recited at 2:30 p.m. A private burial will be held at St. Mary Magdalen Cemetery in Abbeville.
Della Brasseaux Savoy was born in Perry, LA on October 31, 1924, and passed away peacefully on May 26, 2024, at the age of 99. Della and her husband, Luke, raised their children in Rayne, Louisiana. After the death of her spouse in 1976, Della moved to Lafayette to be closer to her children and grandchildren, where she resided for the rest of her life. A devout Catholic, Della joined St. Mary Mother of the Church. She was a member of the Catholic Daughters of America, recently receiving her 65-year pin. Throughout her life, Della enjoyed friendship, travel, cooking and most importantly, her family. Through Gloria Mundi bus trips, she was able to travel and connect with many friends along the way. Della showed her affection for her friends and family through cooking delicious meals and homemade candy while she was able. She will always be remembered by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as a loving and caring grandmother who remembered everyone’s birthday!
She is survived by her daughter Carolyn S. Icard and her husband, Don J. Icard, Sr.; her son, Rodney L. Savoy and his wife, Cindi, all of Lafayette; six grandchildren, Don J. Icard, Jr., and his wife, Ann, Chad M. Icard and his wife, Toni, David A. Icard, Andy L. Icard, Neil Savoy, and Shelley Cestia and her husband, Boo; two siblings, Deanna Stuart and her husband, Cliff, and Wayne Brasseaux and his wife, Elaine; nine great-grandchildren; and a beloved cousin, Dolly Delcambre.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Luke Savoy; one grandson, R. Scott Savoy; her parents, Clemille and Azema LeBouef Brasseaux; and a beloved aunt, Elvina Griffin.
The family would like to give special thanks to Terese Gary, for her time, love, and care for Miss Della, over the past 10 years.
For those who wish to do so, memorial contributions may be made to Community Foundation of Acadiana (cfacadiana.org).
View the obituary and guestbook online at www.mourning.com
Martin & Castille - SOUTHSIDE, 600 E. Farrel Road, Lafayette, Louisiana 70508, 337-984-2811.

Abbeville—Funeral services will be held at 4:00 PM on Saturday, May 25, 2024 at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville honoring the life of Arthur Lee Elmer, Sr., 92, who died Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at his residence. He will be laid to rest at Graceland Cemetery with Pastor Ernest Brown officiating the services.
Honored to serve as pallbearers will be Lee Lavergne, Tyler Elmer, Cody Hebert, Toby Strother, Zach Wilson and Roger Musemuche.
Arthur was a Staff Sergeant of the United States Army who served our country during the Korean Conflict. He went onto work in the oilfield in Texas then moved to Louisiana where he retired. He retired from Shell Oil with 36 years of service. He was a Master Mason for 64 years affiliated with Lodge #192 out of Abbeville, Louisiana.
In his spare time, he enjoyed the outdoors deer hunting and tending to his yard.
Arthur was a family man who treasured time spent with family. He especially loved when his grandchildren and great grandchildren would visit. His favorite was to jump in his truck and drive down those country back roads taking in the beautiful scenery.
He is survived by his three children, Susan Lee Elmer Lavergne and her husband, Leander “Joe“ of Lafayette, Kimberly Elmer Touchet and her husband, Kevin “Pete” of Abbeville, and Arthur Lee Elmer, Jr. and his wife, Carmen of Abbeville; eight grandchildren, Karinda T. Hebert (Cody), Krystal T. Strother (Toby), Lee Lavergne (Jennifer), Lauren L. Wilson (Zach), Kayla E. Mayers, Tyler Elmer, Pamela Yanez, and A.J. Yanez (Shari); nineteen great grandchildren and one on the way; sister, Lerah E. Collins; and sister-in-law, Sneed Elmer.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Kathleen Ouida Musumeche Elmer; parents, Thomas Jackson Elmer and the former Lerah Brown; and brothers, Raymond Elmer, Henderson Elmer, and two infant brothers.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Saturday, May 25, 2024, from 10:00 AM until time of services.
The Elmer family would like to thank his sitters, Odelia Simoneaux, Candi Mhire, and Alisa LeBlanc; along with the staff of Hospice of Acadiana, especially his nurse, Natalie Gray.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.

An incident occurred on Wednesday night at Luquette Baseball Field at A.A. Comeaux Park, leading Abbeville Mayor Roslyn White to issue a statement on the City of Abbeville’s Facebook page and the Abbeville Police Department to get involved.
At an eight-year-old end-of-the-season QSA baseball game, two adults began arguing after one adult male commented, “Lucky catch.”
That comment was overheard by an adult female related to the boy who made the catch. 
“No, that’s talent,” said the female to the male. 
The two continued to argue, and then the home plate umpire heard and stopped the game and asked them to settle down, or the game will be stopped.
Afterward, the woman called someone and encouraged them to come to the game.
The game was over, and the awards were being presented on Luquette Field. Two youths and a female, driving a white truck, parked outside the field on the road. They began walking to the entrance gate and shouting threats to the parents in the park.
The female who had just arrived was told that the person who commented on a “lucky catch” was wearing a purple shirt. So, when she saw a woman wearing a purple shirt, she began yelling and threatening the lady. It was the wrong person, however.
She was also holding a tire iron and began waving it.
Witnesses said the woman never entered Luquette Field because other parents blocked the entrance.
Then, someone inside the field saw what looked like a gun being held by one of the male youths and shouted, “Got a gun!”
“Everyone took off running and began protecting their child,” said a parent. “It was the most craziest day of my life.”
The Abbeville Police officers were called to the field.
On Thursday, a handful of parents went to the police department to make statements about what occurred.
 “Our children were terrorized tonight! The picture etched in my head is everyone screaming, yelling, and praying out loud! Parents lay over their children! We hid behind the dugout, and some hid in the woods! It was a terrifying site! And what happened to the people who caused this terrorism?” wrote one parent on her Facebook page. 

Here is the statement from Mayor White on Wednesday’s incident at A.A. Comeaux Park: 
“I was notified of an incident involving an altercation between adults during a baseball game at AA Comeaux Park, which Abbeville Police Department responded to. The incident involved adults threatening each other, allegedly with a bat and a baton. The caller reported to me that there was alarm and panic in the crowd due to someone stating that one of the items was a gun or possibly shots fired. By the time it was reported to me, they had determined that this was a miscommunication by someone in the crowd. I immediately notified Chief Hardy and the recreation managers that all individuals involved in the incident were not to be allowed back on the property until further notice. Chief Hardy agreed and reported that officers were making statements and that this incident was under investigation. However, I do not have all of the details yet. I believe any adult who behaves this way in a youth baseball game should be held accountable for their inappropriate and dangerous actions. 
“I was not in the city limits when the incident happened, but upon my arrival at the park, officers and all individuals involved were off of the premises with the exception of one officer remaining to work security. 
“I understand that our community is still suffering from the recent traumatic incident at church, and tonight caused additional panic. This is understandable, given the recent event in our community. 
“I do not take this incident lightly and will not tolerate anyone who causes harm or instigates fear or hate in our community. Chief Hardy will make an additional statement once the investigation is concluded. Anyone at the fields who was an eyewitness with relevant details should call Abbeville Police Department to give a statement.”

This is an extraordinary speech that Kallen LeBlanc, a graduated senior at Vermilion Catholic, delivered to the sophomore class during a recent Catholic retreat. The speech revolves around her personal experience with an accident and how her unwavering Faith played a crucial role in her survival. She titled her speech “Navigating the Real World.”
LeBlanc encountered a car accident last year in the Meaux community, which left her hospitalized for 31 days, including a period at Baylor Trauma Hospital in Dallas. Despite the setback and missing several weeks of high school, she graduated with an impressive grade point average of 3.5 and above. In the upcoming fall, she intends to pursue a nursing degree at UL-Lafayette, inspired by the exceptional care she received in the hospital.
Kallen’s parents are Corey and Lasessa LeBlanc.

Kallen’s speech:

On July 8, 2023, I was in a severe car accident. 
I was going to meet my cousin at her aunt’s house to swim. I was only a mile or two away until I got t-boned by a truck at an intersection. 
I was so close to my destination that my cousin could hear the collision.
 She immediately got in her car and drove to the scene. She could see it was my car, so she called her mom, my nanny, because they lived only a few minutes away. 
The only memory I had from the accident was the feeling of my body being compressed, and I could hear my nanny’s voice trying to calm me down. 
That was the only thing I could remember from July 8 to the 24th, even though I was conscious and communicating with my friends and family. 
Air-Med flew me to Lafayette General Hospital, where they discovered that my left lung was bruised, and I fractured some ribs, two bones in my pelvis, and some vertebrae in my back. 
Because my lung was bruised, I was losing oxygen, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe, so they quickly intubated me, which meant they placed a long, thick tube down my throat into my lungs. 
Until then, I talked to my family and made jokes in the E.R. 
I told them that I broke my nail in the accident and I was very upset about it. After two weeks in the hospital, I was not progressing.
 Due to the failure in my healing process, I had to be put under sedation for long periods so that my body was not stimulated and would get the rest it needed to be able to heal. 
I was still relying on the ventilator to breathe and the doctors decided that they no longer had equipment that could help me progress from this point on. 
Because of my inability to progress on the ventilator and all the other strategies that the doctors tried, the only option with a high percentage of survival was ECMO treatment at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
 This machine would allow my body to bypass the use of my lungs and filter oxygen directly into my bloodstream so that my lungs could rest, allowing the healing process to enhance itself. 
Being on ECMO during transportation made my chances of survival very slim. 
Going into ECMO treatments, my expected time for recovery on the machine was supposed to be close to a month. However, I believe that the community around me and the prayers of my family and friends allowed me to shorten my time on the machine to five days. I was off the ventilator three days later. I was on the ventilator for 17 days, causing my voice to have lasting effects. 
I was then flown back to Lafayette General, where I continued to recover and get back into my daily routine. I stayed in the hospital for exactly a month until I was healthy enough to go home. 
I continued to recover by attending physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and many other follow-up appointments. Through the recovery process, I dealt with a lot of emotional struggles, having to relearn physical movements I had used my entire life. 
Things like taking a shower or even brushing my teeth were difficult for me because of my loss of strength and mobility.
 This made my days long and enduring, as I knew that it would take a lot of time to function at my full capabilities again. 
But I was not alone during this time. My friends and family were there with me every step of the way, in my corner, rooting for me and encouraging me to continue to push through these struggles. Having the support from all of these people around me made this process so much easier for me, as I could go through the day knowing that there was always someone there to help me. But I often forgot to acknowledge the one person who had always helped me, and that was God. 
I took God for granted at most points in my life. He wasn’t always a priority until this time. The miracles that worked throughout my healing made me realize that God was necessary. 
At this point in my life, I felt that God was with me, and without Him, I would not be where I am today. 
Previous to my car accident, I was a good Catholic. I had just made my Confirmation, I went to mass every Sunday, I prayed often, and I trusted in God’s plan for my future, but that was the extent.
 I had never thought my life could have been taken so easily. I was never the kind of person who thought about death or was scared of it. 
There are only a handful of people in my life who have passed away, but with some grieving and healing, I felt at peace that God was ready to bring them to Heaven. 
One of the most recent people in my life who passed away was Ramsey Baumgardner. 
She was an 18-year-old senior at North Vermilion whom a drunk driver on Highway 167 killed. She was transported to the Lafayette General and was only alive for less than 24 hours after her accident. 
I remember when I first heard about her accident, I was in complete shock. I could see the cop cars from my house, so I stopped and prayed that God would not take her from her friends and family. 
Even though we did not have a relationship, her story impacted me. It showed that something like this could happen to anyone. 
Little did I know that it would happen to me. Despite the overwhelming odds stacked against me, I am here today to share my testimony of God’s divine intervention and prayer’s power, which helped me persevere. 
This experience has solidified my belief in God’s love and protection. Because I was so close to the end of my life, I now have a new perception that not many people can understand. I am forever grateful for His mercy and grace in my life.