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October 2, 1941~ August 20, 2023

ABBEVILLE — Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville honoring the life of Daniel Ray Arabie, 81, who died Sunday, August 20, 2023 at Kaplan Healthcare Center. He will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery with Deacon William Vincent officiating the services. Those serving as pallbearers will be Brennon Bourque, Jake Charpentier, Robbie Guidry, Michael Bryan, Clifton LeJeune, Gene Bryan, Ryan Trahan, and Keith Arabie. Honorary pallbearers will be Larry Trahan, Bobby Guidry, Charles Bryan, and Jorian Gilbert.
Daniel was a very loving husband and father. He was always a happy person with a smile that lit up a room. One could always find him smiling, laughing, and joking around. He was very easy to get along with and everyone he met loved him. In his free time, he enjoyed fishing and crabbing with family.
He was a veteran of the United States Army who served our country during the Vietnam Era, assigned to the 1st Battalion 7th Cavalry. He was the recipient of the Bronze Star Medal for heroism in ground combat.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Marian Trahan Arabie; son, Daniel “Danny” Arabie, Jr. and his wife Jaime; daughter, Dawn Reneé Arabie and fiancé, Gabriel Hawthorne; two grandchildren, Jorian Gilbert and Zyiel Hawthorne; three step-grandchildren, Jake Charpentier, Meagan Williams and Brennon Bourque; three great-grandchildren; brothers, Larry Arabie and his wife, Winella, Thomas Arabie and his wife, Mary, and Chris Arabie and his wife, Arlene; and sisters, Lana Doré and her husband, Presley, and Gloria Hammond and her husband, Lars.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Prian Arabie, and the former Marie Bourgeois; and siblings, Robert Gale Arabie, John Arabie, Michael James Arabie, and Deanna A. Bryan.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 from 3:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. with a rosary being prayed at 7 p.m.; Wednesday, August 23, 2023 from 8 a.m. until time of services.
The Arabie family would like to thank the staff of Ochsner Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital, Kaplan Healthcare Center and Lamm Family Care Hospice for all the care and support that was given to Daniel at his time of need.
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.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has surpassed $200 million in research and development spending for the first time in its history.
Dr. Joseph Savoie, UL Lafayette president, announced the milestone Wednesday during the State of the University address. The annual presentation to faculty and staff members marks the start of the fall semester and the new academic year. Classes at UL Lafayette begin Monday.
“A strong research landscape reflects the relentless pursuit of excellence embodied by our faculty, staff and graduate researchers who continue to explore the frontiers of knowledge to make discoveries that improve the human condition and preserve and promote our rich culture,” Savoie said.
UL Lafayette competes against other universities for federal and state grants, and private sector contracts. The University acts as a steward for the funds awarded to faculty and staff researchers.
According to the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development Survey, the annual index of R&D spending, UL Lafayette expended $205.2 million in 2022, a 13% increase over the $181.4 million it spent the previous year.
In 2013, R&D spending at UL Lafayette stood at $62 million. Between that year and 2021, the University’s spending grew by 193%, a figure that rates UL Lafayette at No. 6 in the nation “in terms of the speed with which our research infrastructure has grown,” Savoie said.
The NSF index also places UL Lafayette among the top 100 public research universities in the nation, and R&D spending is one factor the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education uses to determine Research 1 status, its top tier. UL Lafayette achieved the designation in late 2021. Just 3% of public universities in the U.S. have R1 status.
Also during Wednesday’s State of the University, Savoie cited a recent independent analysis that revealed UL Lafayette had a $2.7 billion statewide economic impact last year.
The University supports one out of every 78 jobs in the state and one out of every 15 jobs in the Acadiana region. For every $1 invested in UL Lafayette, Louisiana residents receive $8 in added income and social savings.
“Anytime you can invest a dollar in something and get $8 in return – that’s a significant return on investment that reflects a status as a major economic force,” Savoie said.
Savoie’s presentation was the first since the University launched the yearlong observance of the 125th anniversary of its 1898 legislative founding.
“Without question, the last 125 years have been monumental. But the next 125 years will eclipse them,” he said. “With this milestone, we stand at the crossroads of what has been and what can be. From here, we look back on our history with pride. We look ahead to our future with purpose and – if we focus – we can see that tremendous opportunities await us.”

Sugarcane needs water; without it, it will not grow and could die.
Over the last month, the parish has received little or no rain and has dealt with 100-degree temperatures. Today’s sugarcane can handle high temperatures, but it cannot take not having rain over an extensive period.
The parish is dealing with extreme drought conditions, the worst in at least 25 years.
Sugarcane can grow 10 to 13 feet high when Mother Nature cooperates. Today, some sugarcane crops are only four to five feet tall, and the leaves are turning brown because of the lack of water.
“Farmers know how to handle a hurricane or a freeze. They know what the crop can handle and how it will react,” said Blair Hebert, a county agent for the LSU Ag Center. “But a drought is different. Today’s sugarcane farmers have never experienced a drought this bad. In the 1950s and 1960s, they experienced it, but it is different today.
“We have no historical reference to go on.”
Because there has been little or no water, sugarcane farmers will soon have to make tough decisions in the next two or three weeks if Mother Nature continues to be hard-headed.
How serious is it? Very. If rain, and lots of it, does not fall in the next two weeks, sugar cane farmers may have to plow under their crop because it is too small to harvest.
“It is a concern,” he said. “This could be tough for some farmers.”
They can only make money if they have a crop to take to the sugarcane mill. With at least 30,000 acres of sugar cane in the parish, not harvesting sugar cane would be a significant economic blow to Vermilion Parish.
For every dollar a sugar cane farmer makes, he puts back $2.50 into the local economy. If a farmer loses money, so does the parish.
“He is not buying a truck or going to eat in restaurants,” said Hebert. “The parish will feel it, also.”
This week, some parish farmers are taking extreme measures to put water in their fields. Like rice farmers, they pump water from the canals into their fields, hoping it will help the plants grow, but it is also expensive.
Farmers plant a new crop from August 1 to the end of September.
But today, planting is also a challenge. Some farmers can not harvest the existing crop because it is too short in the fields to cut. And those that are harvested are also shorter than usual and have fewer joints.
Also, due to the drought problems, the mills in Iberia and St. Martin parishes are looking at pushing back the start day to Oct. 2.
Hebert, a 1988 North Vermilion graduate, said he needs a crystal ball to predict the future for sugar cane farmers. He said farmers are all talking with one another to see what the other farmers are doing in this crisis.
“Every farmer will have to make a decision. Many farmers are making plans for the worse. Some will also hold out for rain,” Hebert said.

Peter Donald Guidry, Sr., 75, passed peacefully on July 20, 2023 in Biloxi, MS. Born May 11, 1948 in Jeanerette, LA.
Mr. Guidry was a veteran of the Vietnam War, proudly serving in the US Army for six years. After his honorable discharge in 1973, he started his own business, Intracoastal Electric and grew his business to multiple locations that served the oilfield industry throughout the south. After a fulfilling and successful career, he retired in 2003 he and his wife Darlene settled in Biloxi, MS.
One of his greatest joys during retirement was spending time at his camp in the Boston Canal, fishing in the Vermilion Bay on his boat “Rock N Roll”. He savored the moments spent with his loving family, wonderful friends, closest pals Ronnie and Charlene Romero, and his pets. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
Left to cherish his memories are his loving wife of 24 years, Darlene Northrop Guidry; seven siblings, Susan O’ Connor of Wexford, Ireland, Carmen Boutte of Throckmorton, TX, Beverly Broussard of New Iberia, LA, John (Emma) Boutte of Burleson, TX, Melanie (Andy) Williams of Washington DC, Tony Boutte, Colin, of Huntsville, TX and Ginger (Glenn) Guidry Luc Brown of Nashville, TN; daughter, Celanie (Jason) Duhon, of Maurice, LA; son, Donny (Nicole) Guidry of Erath, LA; niece, Regina (Roy) Labiche of New Iberia, LA; Three grandchildren, Skyla, Alaina, and Aydin; and four great grandchildren, Rowan, Ava, Lilly K and Olivia. Bonus children, Brian (Brandi) Northrop, Missy (Glenn) Catoe, and Kristen (Jimmy) Northrop; along with thirteen bonus grandchildren, and one bonus great granddaughter.
He was preceded by his grandparents, Leonce and Louise (Hebert) Guidry; parents, Donald Joseph Guidry and his loving wife, Mary Belle Crump Guidry of Nashville, TN; sisters, Frances Guidry DeRouen and Debbie Boutte Weaver.
A Memorial Visitation will be held Friday, August 4, 2023, from 5:00PM - 8:00PM at Trinity Funeral Service McHenry. A graveside service followed by interment will be held at Holy Family Cemetery in New Iberia, LA on August 26, 2023 at 10am.
Trinity Funeral Services is honored to serve the Guidry Family and ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers during these difficult times.