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Robert Vincent

Erath's Robert Vincent passes away

ERATH — A considerable part of the Erath community passed away on Thursday.
Robert Vincent lost his 30-year battled with degenerative nerve disease known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disorder (CMT).
“It was my life as it was,” the Erath native told the Daily Iberian of his diagnosis and prognosis during an interview in January of this year.
“I asked myself early on, ‘With this disability, what can I accomplish?’ I was never going to be a sports star, but there were so many other things I could accomplish.”
He accomplished a lot in his 41 years on Earth. He was an Erath attorney and a member of the Erath council.
At 19, he was elected as an Erath city councilman and, as mayor pro tempore. He became the youngest elected official in the state at the time.
During his first four-year term, he co-founded the Acadian Museum with Erath attorney Warren Perrin – who is also Robert’s uncle.
When the Hwy. 14 bypass opened, Robert helped incorporate land into the town. He has been the longest active president of the Fourth of July Association.
He also helped raise $160,000 for the building of an all-weather track at Erath High.
He graduated from Southern Law School in 2010 and began practicing law in 2011.
Southern University Law Center recently honored Robert with the Distinguished Alumni Award at a ceremony that was held at his house in Erath.
“God has blessed my life and given me so many opportunities and skills to help others, why would I complain about that?”
The disease paralyzed his feet, legs, hands and his diaphragm. Unable to breathe without the help of machines, Vincent was in hospice care since 2015.
In the Daily Iberian story, Vincent gave his parents, Douglas and Jackie, credit for helping him reach his life’s accomplishments.
“If I didn’t have my mom and dad, there’s no way I could have accomplished all of this. Every day when I wake up, I ask the Lord to make it a good day so that I can help someone in return.”
On Thursday, his mother, Jackie, posted the news of her son’s death on Facebook, “RIP, My beloved Robert.”

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