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September 11, 1937 - April 3, 2026

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 10, 2026 in St. Alphonsus Catholic Church - Maurice for Johnny Roy Picard, 88, who passed away on April 3, 2026.
Fr. Paul Bienvenu, Pastor of St. Alphonsus and Our Lady of Perpetual Help - Leroy Catholic Churches, will be Celebrant of the Mass and will conduct the funeral services.
Burial will take place in St. Alphonsus Catholic Cemetery.
Maurice, Louisiana, has never been a big place. Founded in the late 1800s by Maurice Villien. The small South Central Louisiana town that bears his name grew into a close-knit community of about four hundred souls. A place where families were bound together by blood and marriage, where everyone knew everyone, and where a neighbor’s joy or sorrow was felt as your own. It was exactly the kind of town where a high school basketball coach could become something larger than life.
They called him “Coach,” and in Maurice, that one word said everything. Johnny Roy Picard wasn’t just the head basketball coach at Maurice High School. He was a builder of young men, a shaper of character, and for a generation of Bulldogs, the voice that told them they were capable of more than they knew.
Coach Johnny arrived at Maurice High in 1966 and would remain at the helm of the Bulldogs’ basketball and track teams for 13 seasons, stepping away in 1979. In a school where graduating classes numbered fewer than fifty most years, the basketball team wasn’t some distant spectacle you watch from the bleachers. Those boys on the court were your sons, your nephews, your cousins, your neighbor’s kids. The school spirit that filled the gymnasium on game nights was real and personal in a way that only a town of four hundred can understand. When the Bulldogs won, the whole town won. And under Coach Johnny, they won a lot.
Those who played for Coach Johnny knew his formula was simple and non-negotiable. If you wanted to play basketball, you ran track too. No exceptions. Some boys grumbled. All of them got stronger. When the fourth quarter came, and the other team was dragging, the Bulldogs were still running, up and down the court, full speed, full effort, the way Coach Johnny demanded.
It showed in the results. In 1969, just his fourth season, Coach Johnny’s squad went nearly unbeaten. Their only stumble came against Gueydan, a Class A team talented enough to reach the Top 20 in their own division’s state tournament. A loss to a bigger school might have satisfied a lesser coach. Not Johnny Roy Picard. His Bulldogs met Gueydan again in the season and answered with a 94 to 68 statement that left no room for doubt.
But the ultimate test came in the Class C State Championship, where Maurice faced Ebarb, a team that battled the Bulldogs to a standstill in the Top Twenty finals. Ebarb boasted Greg Procell, the state’s most prolific scorer, who poured in 33.2 points per game, alongside Walter Meshell, a junior averaging 21 points per game. On paper, it was a mismatch that should have overwhelmed a small-town squad from Maurice. But Coach Johnny’s boys didn’t read the paper. They played their game, they held their ground, and when the final buzzer sounded, Maurice had claimed the state title by a razor-thin 70–68 victory. For a town of four hundred to knock off the state’s highest-scoring duo and hoist a championship trophy was nothing short of monumental, the kind of moment that becomes legend in a place where everyone knows your name.
The Louisiana Sports Writers Association named Coach Johnny the Class C Coach of the Year, and three of his Bulldogs earned spots on the All-State team. One can only imagine what that title meant to the people of Maurice, their boys, from their little school, standing at the top of the state.
Coach Johnny kept building, and the Bulldogs kept competing at the highest level. Four years later, he did it again.
The 1973 Bulldogs climbed to the top of Class C, and Coach Johnny earned his second Coach of the Year title, proof that the first time was no fluke, just the standard he set and refused to lower.
In 1981, the era of Maurice High School came to a close. The small school gave way to consolidation, and the Bulldogs became the Patriots of North Vermilion High School. A chapter ended. But by then, Coach Johnny had already written his part of the story, thirteen seasons that gave the Maurice Bulldogs two state championships, two Coach of the Year honors, and a legacy that no mascot change could erase. He had served during a valuable moment in time, one that the people of Maurice would hold onto long after the Bulldog name came down from the gymnasium wall.
And Coach Johnny wasn’t finished giving. After his coaching days, he poured his energy into the Future Farmers of America, dedicating years to fundraising that supported young people, quietly, faithfully, just as he always had from his home just outside the small town he had served so well. It was the same spirit that had driven him on the court: show up, do the work, and help the next generation find their footing. He carried that commitment all the way through to his retirement.
But trophies, titles, and years of service, as fine as they are, only tell part of the story. The fuller measure of Coach Johnny Roy Picard lives in the men who once were his boys. Across thirteen seasons in that small town where everyone was family in one way or another, he coached and mentored young men who learned on his court that discipline isn’t punishment, it’s a gift; that a team looks out for its own; and that a small town doesn’t have to think small. They carried those lessons off the court and into their lives, as fathers, as workers, as members of their communities, and they are better for it. The team spirit Coach Johnny built among those tight-knit groups gave his players something no scoreboard could capture: a foundation for doing better in life.
Maurice has always been a place where people take care of each other, where roots run deep, and bonds hold fast. Coach Johnny Roy Picard understood that. He drew on it, strengthened it, and gave it back to the town tenfold through the young men he shaped.
Maurice has lost its Coach. But what he built across those thirteen remarkable seasons, in wins, in character, in the quiet pride of a community that watched its own boys become champions, that endures.
Rest easy, Coach Johnny. The final buzzer has sounded, but the game you built will never be over.
He is survived by his sons, Jeffery John (Dawn) Picard, Scott Joseph (Chrissy) Picard, and Chad David Picard; grandchildren, Victoria Mary Picard, Garrett Scott Picard, Gage Hunter Picard, and Hadley Claire Picard; and his partner, Agnes Rose Broussard.
He was preceded in death by the mother of his children, Ramona Jane Korkames; his father, Ollie Picard; his mother Wilda Trahan (Leon Ceaser) Bernard; and his second wife, Johnnie Pearl Edwards.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Delhomme Funeral Home - Maurice on Thursday, April 9, 2026 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. A Rosary will be prayed at 6:00 PM on Thursday evening in the funeral home. Visiting hours will continue Friday, April 10, 2026 from 8 a.m. until 9:40 a.m.
Pallbearers will be the 1969 & 1973 Maurice High School Bulldogs Class C Basketball State Champions.
Honorary Pallbearers will be Tyron Picard and Lane Picard.
Personal condolences may be sent to the family of "Coach" Johnny R. Picard at: www.delhommefuneralhome.com
"Coach" Johnny R. Picard and his family were cared for and entrusted final arrangements to Delhomme Funeral Home, 200 Chief H. Fred Road, Maurice, LA.

September 14, 1936 - March 21, 2026

Norman Joseph Broussard, age 89, was called home to be with our Lord on March 21, 2026, in Manvel, Texas, surrounded by his loving family. He was entrusted to Hayes Funeral Home in Santa Fe, Texas, for cremation.
Norman was born on September 14, 1936, in Erath, Louisiana, to Simon and Aurore (Langlinais) Broussard. In high school, he met the love of his life, Shirley Bertrand. They were married on June 20, 1954, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Abbeville, Louisiana. Together, they built a life rooted in love and family.
He proudly served in the Louisiana National Guard in his early adulthood. They later relocated to Port Sulphur, Louisiana, where Norman worked as an electrician for Freeport Sulphur Company for 37 years before retiring.
Norman was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Alvin Broussard, Tee Ray Broussard, and Tee June Broussard.
He is survived by his devoted wife of 71 years, Shirley Broussard; his brother, Paul Johnnie Broussard and wife Brenda of New Iberia, Louisiana; his son, Nathan G. Broussard of Scott, Louisiana; his daughter, Paula S. Broussard of Manvel, Texas; his grandchildren, Krissy Broussard Miller and husband Christian of Rosharon, Texas; Shanna Morales and husband Jaime of Corpus Christi, Texas; and Annabella, Olivia, and Gabriella Broussard of Youngsville, Louisiana; and his great-grandchildren, Ryan, Jordan, and Jaxon Morales of Corpus Christi, Texas.
Services will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Erath, Louisiana, on April 11, 2026. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with a Rosary at 12:30 p.m. and Mass at 1:00 p.m. A gathering will follow at a family member’s home.
The family would like to recognize the following as honorary pallbearers: Brad Bertrand, Kevin Broussard, Brian Broussard, Christian Miller, Jaime Morales, Ryan Morales, Paul Allen Broussard, and Kenneth Teekel.
“Well done, good and faithful servant.” — Matthew 25:23

The Abbeville Police are investigating the death of a local woman.
On Monday, March 30, the Abbeville Police Department received a phone call around 10:30 a.m. reporting a death.
Officers responded to a local apartment complex and located the body of Nicoletta Menard, 44, of Abbeville. Abbeville Police Detectives processed the scene. Menard was pronounced dead by the Vermilion Parish Coroner’s Office and transported for an autopsy to be performed.
This case is still actively under investigation, and Chief of Police Mike Hardy urges the public to provide any further information regarding this crime or any other crime by calling the Abbeville Police Department at (337) 893-2511. You may also contact our “Tips” line at (337) 892-6777. All callers may remain anonymous. Citizens may also send anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers of Vermilion by calling (337) 740-TIPS or the P3 app, which can be downloaded through the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

High school bathrooms remain the most common location for teens to vape, continuing a trend from previous generations when bathrooms were the primary place to smoke.
It is common to encounter cherry-scented, chemical vapors from e-cigarettes in high school bathrooms.
At the start of the next school year, students should be aware that the Vermilion Parish School District is taking significant steps to prevent vaping in high school bathrooms.
With a $100,000 grant, the district is purchasing Halo Smart Sensors for installation in all parish high school bathrooms. The company bid $65,000 for the installation.
After high schools receive sensors, the district will begin installing them in middle schools.
Superintendent Tommy Byler explained that the sensors will not trigger an audible alarm when they detect vape or e-cigarette smoke. Instead, they will send an alert to the school administrator’s cell phone.
A red light will be installed above each bathroom door. When the sensor detects nicotine, THC, or smoke, the light will activate to alert the teacher on duty.
“This is just the next step in our process to curb vaping in our schools,” said Byler. “Vaping is not healthy for our youth.”
Statistics show that more than 2.55 million youth in the U.S. vape, including at least 14.1% of high school students and 3.3% of middle school students.
That’s according to the most recent statistics (2022) from the National Youth Tobacco Survey from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also found that, of those youth who vape, 85% use flavored e-cigarettes (as opposed to unflavored options) and more than a quarter of users (27.5%) reported having a daily habit.
Byler stated that students caught vaping will be assigned to an alternative school for 30 days. If THC is found in the vape, the student may face expulsion from the school system.

What is vaping, and
why is it unhealthy?

According to the CDC, e-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid containing nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals, sometimes including marijuana or other drugs, to produce an aerosol. Users inhale this aerosol, and bystanders are also exposed when it is exhaled.
First-hand aerosol exposure is harmful to many. The aerosol from e-cigarettes is harmful for several reasons. Most e-cigarettes (99%) contain nicotine, often undisclosed, which can damage the developing adolescent brain, including areas responsible for attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. Because vapes are powerful, accessible, and discreet, “kids can pretty much use these almost 24/7, which means unbelievably high amounts of nicotine in very short periods of time,” says Koval. “So, they become addicted in very short periods of time.”