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Francis LeBlanc was a soft-spoken man who significantly impacted Abbeville High School and J.H. Williams Middle School. He passed away over the weekend of a short illness.
He was the chorus director at Abbeville High School and J.H. Williams Middle School for 27 years. He retired this past May.
As of Monday, the Meridional had not received any funeral arrangements for LeBlanc. 
“This beautiful soul is now singing with the angels,” said Tiffany Marie Saltzman.  “I will miss so much about him. He played a huge role in so many lives. I will miss him calling me Salisbury. I will miss every eraser he (jokingly) would throw at us when he knew we were lip-singing,  but mostly, I will miss his smile and heart. Mr. Francis,  I am sure Jesus is proud of you for how many lives you’ve changed.”
 Mathew Ewing is a band member of the All-Star Band. The band played alongside LeBlanc at St. Elizabeth Seaton Catholic Church in Lafayette.
“It’s with the heaviest heart that I must say goodbye to my brother in Christ, Francis Leblanc,” said Ewing.  “It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to get to sing alongside and befriend you all these years. The man could go from being sassy and playful to saying the most inspired Godlike words you would hear that day. He is a kind soul who gave everything he was to his community, especially to the youth who will carry his fire forward after yesterday.”
Abbeville High School also wrote about losing their former chorus director.
“Mr. Francis, who recently retired in May after more than 27 years of service to JHW and AHS, was certainly one-of-a-kind,” wrote Abbeville High School. “His powerful, angelic voice could fill a room like no other and could send chills down your spine. His vocals and piano playing were truly transcendent and moving. Mr. Francis greeted you with a smile, genuine words of all kinds from his seemingly endless well of wisdom, and the warmest of hugs. To know him was to love him.
“Our community sends our deepest condolences to his family and all who knew and loved him as we process this loss together. We know that Mr. Francis will live on in our hearts and that he leaves the mighty legacy of music and love to grow.”
Former Abbeville High teacher Jason Harrington had a classroom next to LeBlanc.
“My favorite memory of Mr. Francis was in his interaction with one of my students, said Harrington. “When I was at Abbeville High, my room was next door to his office, and he’d often visit to give insight and advice to my TAG students.
“With one particular student who was a verifiable savant, Mr. Francis sat and listened to him play piano, then with the most direct tone imaginable, he expressed to the student that God was going to hold him to account for how he shared this gift with the world. He communicated in no uncertain terms that we have a responsibility to share our gifts; they are not for us but for others.”
LeBlanc not only taught chorus in Abbeville, but he was also a music minister and teacher in the Diocese of Lafayette.
Two years ago,  LeBlanc was a finalist for the Christi Award from the Diocese of Lafayette.
He was quoted in the Catholic Extension Society magazine, crediting his strong faith-life to family and community.
“I was blessed having both parents believing in God,” he said. “They instilled in us hard work and to treat people the way you want to be treated. My father is gone now, but we know where he’s at. He’s with the grace of God.” 
To this day, Leblanc’s mother attends Mass nearly every day and prays the rosary at least four times daily.
According to the Catholic Extention Magazine, as a child at St. Francis, which hosted many highly talented musicians, Leblanc fell in love with the beauty of music and its ability to bring people closer to God. Father Joseph Brown, a Josephite priest who served the parish, encouraged Leblanc to develop his musical skills and to play for the church.
Leblanc earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. During his education, he received a scholarship to study overseas, but his family couldn’t afford the rest of the cost. His parish community came together to fundraise for him so his parents didn’t have to pay a cent.
“That touched me deeply,” Leblanc said in the magazine article. “And for that, I always want to give back because so much was given to me through my community.”

The Abbeville High/Franklinton football game was halted with 7:33 remaining in the fourth quarter after Abbeville High assistant coaches overheard a spectator behind the AHS players threatening to get a gun.
Abbeville was losing 50-12 when the game was stopped.
The young man who allegedly made that statement had just been in a pushing match with another person sitting in the first row of the AHS stadium.
 Within seconds, security officers were in the stands trying to escort the young man out of the stadium. As the young man was being escorted out, the Abbeville assistant coaches, with a protective instinct, started waving their hands and directing their players to the safety of the school bus.
In the meantime, the Abbeville Wildcats offense was still on the field, running plays while the AHS coaches were trying to get their players off of the field.
Abbeville High Head Coach Jonathan Zenon walked across the field to tell Franklinton head coach Nick Saltifamagio why he was calling the game.
On the way back, Coach Zenon explained why the game was stopped early.
“There was a group of kids in the stands heard that a guy was going get a gun,” said Zenon. “We decided to end it.”
Once the game was over, Franklinton trotted across the field and onto their bus, while the Wildcats walked to their buses.
When the game was called, Abbeville Principal Phillip Freeman was on the Abbeville High sideline. 
He did not want to make a statement until he investigated the incident.
It was almost two years to the day that someone fired five bullets near the J.H Williams football stadium. It was also Abbeville’s homecoming game. 
On Friday, it is also Abbeville High’s homecoming.
As of Friday night, it was not known if anyone was arrested for allegedly making gun threats on a school campus.
This is the second week a Vermilion Parish football game had a strange ending.
Fighting broke out at the end of last Friday’s North Vermilion/Comeaux High football game. The two teams were suspended from playing this Friday because of the fights.

ABBEVILLE — Funeral services for Mitchell Wayne Livings is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday, October 22, 2024 in the chapel of Kinchen Funeral Home – 218 N. St. Valarie Street with burial in St. Paul Cemetery. Visitation will be from 8 a.m. until time of service.
Mitchell Livings (62) a resident of Kaplan, passed away in an automobile accident on Sunday, October 13, 2024.
He is survived by his loving wife, Essie Plowden Livings of Kaplan, LA; his mother, Ethel Livings; one daughter, Tori Anderson; one brother, Michael Livings (Carla); sisters, Annetta Livings, Tasha Livings and Tina Livings (Melvin) of Lake Charles,LA; two grandsons, Dion and Tatum, and a host of other relatives and friends.
Mitchell was preceded in death by his father Joseph Livings and two brothers, Tommy and Raye Livings.
Kinchen Funeral Home Inc. is in charge of final arrangements. Additionally, condolences to the family may be expressed on our website at: www.kinchenfuneralhome.com.

Imagine a child strolling into a 1st-grade classroom and then sixty-one years later, you can still see that person walking the halls of that same school as an active participant. It is a feat not many (if any) can claim. Though roles shifted from student to teacher through the years, In Erath, Nellie Broussard is that rare example.
As a 1st grader many years ago, she began her journey at Erath High, which housed grades 1-12 at that time. (PreK and Kindergarten didn’t exist in public schools until much later.)
Before 1972, Erath High housed all twelve grades. Unlike Erath students today, she attended 1st through 12th grade, at only one school. She graduated from there in 1971.
After leaving her alma mater, she attended USL (now UL) and graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics and Math Education. In 1976, she earned her Masters in Education at USL. She also earned certification in the supervision of student teachers. She had several through the years.
Following her 1974 college graduation, her teaching career began right back where she started, at Erath High School.
Broussard taught for thirty-three years, then retired in 2007. However, she returned the following year. Upon returning to EHS in 2008, she remained for eleven additional years. By 2019, she retired a second time, with forty-four years of teaching experience. However, she didn't stop there, this two-time retiree then began substituting at Erath High.
Through more than four decades, this 1994-1995 - Erath High Teacher of the Year taught Home Economics (Home Ec I, II, III, IV), Parenthood Education, Foods and Nutrition, Consumer Education, Child Development, ACT prep, Chemistry, and several Maths (Algebra I and II, general math, financial math),
It can be said that EHS claimed much of her existence, whether it was as a student, teacher, or substitute.
All in all, that little first-grade girl has grown up and sixty-one years later, she is still walking the halls of EHS as an active part of the school. Approximately 6000 students have entered her classroom during her tenure. She said she “taught many of my students’ parents and grandparents!”
With that rare accomplishment, Erath High Principal Dr. Belisa Smith announced that Erath native Nellie Broussard was chosen as the school’s 2024 Homecoming Grand Marshal.
She is a native of Erath and a mother to three children. Jason Broussard (spouse Laurie), Amy Broussard Leblanc (spouse Lance), Seth Broussard (spouse Megan). She has five grandchildren Lawson Broussard, Locke Leblanc, Janson Broussard, Mailey Broussard, and Maverick Broussard. Her parents are the late Perfay and Lillian Broussard. She has two siblings, Ann Broussard Clostio, and the late Howard Broussard.