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March 15, 1927 ~ July 18, 2022

ABBEVILLE — A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, July 22, 2022 at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church honoring the life of Yvonne Gaspard Stelly, 95, who died Monday, July 18, 2022, in Conroe, Texas at the home of her daughter, Glenda. She will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery with Reverend Chester Arceneaux officiating the services.
Pallbearers will be her grandsons Brian DuBois, Kevin DuBois, Cory Richard, Jude Richard, Bubba Stelly, and Jason Tomino. Honorary pallbearers will be Kelly DuBois, Jacob Stelly, Phillip, Ryan and Justin Tomino. Lectors for the Mass will be her granddaughters, Karan Stelly and Alison Veazey. Giftbearers will be Jill Richard and Rachael Richard.
Yvonne was born on March 15, 1927 in Cow Island, Louisiana. She lived most of her life in Abbeville. She was devoted to her family. She was a loving mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.
She was an excellent cook, loved her flowers and bird watching especially hummingbirds. She also loved angels and had a large collection of ceramic ones.
She is survived by her four children, Linda Susan “Sue” and her husband, Kirby DuBois, Glenda and her husband, Calvin Ledbetter, Otis “Johnny” Stelly, Jr. and his wife, Sarite, and Janice and her husband, Peter Tom Tomino; two brothers Augustin Gaspard, Jr. and his wife, Ruth, and James Gaspard and his companion, Deanna; two sisters, Delores Major and her husband, Joseph, and Marie Hebert and her husband, Edwin; sister-in-law, Una Stelly Bares and her husband, Sidney; grandchildren, Brian DuBois and his companion, Christina, Kevin DuBois, Kelly DuBois and his companion, Jessa, Cory Richard and his wife, Rachael, Jude Richard and his wife, Jill, Alison Richard Veazey and her husband, Chris, Otis “Bubba” Stelly, III and his wife, Yadira, Karen Stelly and her companion, Merlin, Jacob Stelly and his partner, Matt, Alaina Stelly and her fiancé, Manning, Jason Tomino, Phillip Tomino and his wife, Kristy, Ryan Tomino and his wife, Chanee, and Justin Tomino; great grandchildren, Mia, Chloe, and Oliver DuBois, Morgan, Cade, Evan, Luke, Kyle, Emily, and Audrey Richard, Katie and Karleigh Kirsh, Mason, OJ and Wyatt Stelly, Violet Pratte, Hannah Mergist, Parker Veazey, Sannah, Brianna, Leo, Emmitt, and Maxiumus Tomino; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 54 years, Otis John Stelly, Sr., parents, Augustin Gaspard, Sr. and the former Ida Boudreaux; four brothers, John, Luke, Eldridge and Nolan Gaspard; six sisters, Ann Marie Gaspard, May Nolia Gaspard, Joyce Gaspard “Sister Elizabeth”, Naomie La Vergne, Cordrey Menard, and Ouida Sanderlin.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Friday, July 22, 2022 from 8 a.m. until 2:45 p.m. when the procession will depart for the church. A rosary being prayed at 11 a.m.
A heartfelt appreciation is extended by the family to Memorial Herman Hospice for their compassionate care.
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.

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) has launched the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline — the new 3-digit number that replaces the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to make it easier for people to receive assistance during a mental health crisis.
The previous 10-digit number has answered tens of millions of calls and saved countless lives. Now 988 will be the same trusted resource for those who are dealing with suicidal thoughts, substance abuse or other mental health challenges. People can also dial 988 if they are worried about a loved one who may need immediate crisis support.
When you call, text or chat 988, you will be connected to trained compassionate crisis counselors who will listen to your concerns, provide support and connect you with local resources. The chat feature will also be available through the Lifeline's website. All calls are confidential. The service is being provided 24/7, free of charge.
“It is so important that we have resources in place to help people when they need it most and having a lifeline like this one is vital," said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “Tragically, Louisiana experienced more than 600 suicides in 2020 and nationally there is a death by suicide every 11 minutes. This is a serious problem and being able to text or chat with a trained and compassionate crisis counselor who can listen, provide support and connect people with local resources is going to make it easier for anyone to receive assistance during a mental health crisis. There is never any shame in reaching out for help and everyone needs help at some point in their lives. This is a very safe place to get that support.”
“One in five people above the age of 12 has a mental health condition in the U.S.," said LDH Secretary Dr. Courtney N. Phillips. “If you need help, know that you are not alone. It's OK to not be OK. Mental health impacts everyone and we need to make sure those who need help have access to it. This important initiative will make it easier for more residents to access critical mental health services when they need it most. A year in the making, Louisiana stands ready to join the nation for this launch.”
According to the CDC, suicide was the 12th leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020, and the 3rd leading cause of death for young people ages 15-24 in the same year.
LDH’s Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) has contracted with two certified call centers to answer 988 calls in the state. The Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gambling, located in Bossier City, will field calls in area codes 318 and 337 covering north, central and southwest Louisiana. VIA LINK, located in New Orleans, will answer calls for southeast Louisiana, covering area codes 504, 225 and 985.
Approximately $2.5 million has been allocated to fund the program including existing state and federal grant dollars.
If you have any questions, email OBH at 988@la.gov.

Elks and Moose and Owls and Lambs all had fraternal orders in south Louisiana in 1913, but a critter that was already becoming iconic had none. That’s why some men in Abbeville decided it was time to create a social and fraternal organization recognizing the crawfish.
“The whole purpose of this order is the exploitation of the backward, but oh so sweet” crawfish, according to a report in the Abbeville Progress.
Members of the organization said it would be their mission to elevate the crawfish in the eyes of all. They “have seen and felt the many good points of this humble creature,” the newspaper reported, and they found nobility enough to merit the recognition. They further pointed out that elks and moose and some of the other animals for which fraternal orders were named were “confined only to certain regions,” but “the crawfish is found spread over the universe.”
“The members will endeavor to engrave upon the tablets of time a name that heretofore has seemingly escaped attention, possibly being considered too lowly,” according to the article, which went on to enumerate some of those good points.
Crawfish stick together, the club members said. They “endeavor to back out of trouble,” and feel their way forward with caution. They fight for their rights, “but when the time comes for the sacrifice … they give up their small lives without a word.” Humans would do well to imitate these traits, members said, promising that “this organization will … endeavor to consecrate the word ‘Crawfish.’”
The first officers of the club were Claude Broussard, High Right Claw; Avery Theall, High Left Claw; A. G. Nauck, Trailer; and R. J. LaBauve, Feeler.
Their high esteem for the lowly crustacean did not mean that members of the club would swear off eating crawfish. It appears, in fact, that regular feasts were one of the organization’s primary goals.
“To keep this band together and in harmony and good spirits,” the Progress reported, “it is the intention of this order through different members to have weekly outings throughout the season to gather in their namesakes and have them attend banquets given in their honor and at which banquets there will be flows of reason and feasts of soul.”
The club members were even so gracious as to promise to bring their wives to the banquets “from time to time,” so that the club “will not be construed as a selfish order.”
It’s not clear whether the banquets were to be given in honor of the club members or the crawfish themselves, but I have my suspicions about how The Crawfish honored the crawfish.
Whatever the purpose, the newspaper applauded it.
“Lets [drink] one to the health and success of the Order of the Crawfish,” the newspaper article concluded. “Long may they live and happy may they be.”
I don’t know what happened to the club, but its spirit and purpose continue to be observed throughout south Louisiana. That’s especially true about this time of year, when all of us think about “gathering in their namesakes” and recreating some of the rituals of the Order of the Crawfish, although “flows of reason” are more usually flows of beer, and “feasts of soul” seem to have fallen by the wayside altogether.
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

The Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force seized six pounds of marijuana worth a street value of $6,000.
They also arrested a New Iberia man.
According to Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Eddie Langlinais, the Vermilion Municipal and Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force made the following arrests for narcotics related offenses within the parish.
Within the past month, agents were able to identify a suspected narcotics trafficker bringing large amounts of illegal narcotics into Vermilion Parish.
As a result of this investigation, agents were able to intercept a suspected narcotics deal and arrest Alan Kongmani, (O/M, DOB: 11-13-1981 of New Iberia).
Kongmani was charged with:
• Possession with Intent to Distribute Schedule I, (Marijuana)
• Possession of Schedule II, (Methamphetamine)
• Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
This investigation is still ongoing, and more arrests are expected.
Sheriff Mike Couvillon would like to thank the Mayors, and their council, of Abbeville, Maurice, Delcambre, Kaplan, Gueydan, and Erath, along with their Chiefs of Police, for their support of the Vermilion Municipal and Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force.
Sheriff Couvillon also applauds the concerned citizens of Vermilion Parish for their awareness and assistance in helping the Task Force in fighting the war on illegal drugs.
He encourages all citizens with information in regards to illegal drug activities to contact the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office or the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit at 337-740-4501 or E-mail the Task Force anonymously at taskforce@vpso.net and your e-mail will be held in the “strictest of confidence” and replied to in a very timely manner. Citizens can also report crimes by calling the Crime Stoppers of Vermilion Tips line at 740-TIPS (8477) or download and logon to the P3 app on your mobile device to report your tips anonymously, where they can earn a cash reward.
More information on reporting drug activities can be seen on our Web Site at www.vpso.net. Click on Narcotics and fill out the TURN IN A PUSHER information.