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ABBEVILLE – Funeral Services for Mrs. Linda Richard, 73, will be held at 1:30PM on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at David Funeral Home Chapel of Abbeville with Fr. Francois Sainte-Marie officiating. Interment will follow at Graceland Cemetery.
Visitation will be held at David Funeral Home of Abbeville on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 from 5:00PM until 9:00PM with a recitation of the rosary at 7:00PM. Visitation will resume on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 from 8:00AM until the time of the services.
A native and resident of Abbeville, Mrs. Ricard died at 11:29AM on Saturday, April 17, 2021 at Ochsner of Baton Rouge. She was known for her love for country music.
She is survived by two daughters, Sonya Stott and her husband Chad of Erath and Tonya Marie Harrington of Abbeville; a son, Shane Paul Touchet and his wife Lauren of Lawtell; a brother, Nolan Suire, Sr. and his wife Cheryl; nine grandchildren, Gregory Girouard, Jr., Dawn Harrington, Kari Menard, Matthew Stott, Kayla Harrington, Zoee Touchet, Eli Touchet, Sadie Touchet, and Josie Touchet; and eleven great grandchildren.
Serving as pallbearers will be Matthew Stott, Shane Touchet, Nolan Suire, Sr., Louis Hebert, III., Chase Romero, and Devin Mire.
You may sign the guest register book and express condolences online at www.davidfuneralhome.org
“In order to help keep the community safe we will honor the July 13, 2020 Louisiana Mandates.  All families and their guests are required to wear a face covering while at the funeral home. Thank you for your understanding during this unprecedented time.” 
David Funeral Home of Abbeville at 2600 Charity St. (337)893-3777 will be handling the arrangements.

Our comments several weeks ago about Hank Williams and his Cajun anthem Jambalaya, brought a note from Keith Simon about his great grandfather Dosette Guidry, who may have played the first version long before Hank and his imitators knew what a jambalaya was.
You’ll remember that Jambalaya’s tune closely tracks the Louisiana French song Grand Texas that was recorded both in French and English by Poppa Cairo. There are several stories about how Jambalaya’s lyrics came to be, several of them attributing the words to Moon Mullican, who performed with Hank on the Grand Ole Opry show and elsewhere.
Keith sends along a web posting by Dosette’s descendant, Martin Guidry, who suggests that the Guidry family “heavily influenced the best-known country hit of all time.”
Dosette and his brothers Arthur and Isidore, sons of Alcide Guidry and Marie Louise Hebert, were mostly tenant farmers, but for a brief time they performed as the Guidry Brothers, and were among the first groups to record Cajun music. Their tie to Jambalaya comes from one of their recordings, Le Garcon Negligent.
According to a 2019 Teche News feature story on the Guidrys by Wade Falcon, the melody to Le Garcon “contains early familiar elements, similar to … Papa Cairo’s Grand Texas and even later, Hank Williams’ Jambalaya. It may be the earliest appearance of this melody ever.”
According to Martin Guidry, “In 1952, Hank Williams became aware of the song Big Texas and decided to record it; however, he spiced up the text with Cajun French words and used … a version Moon Mullican had written, but not copyrighted. Some disagreement exists about how Hank Williams got the words to Jambalaya (On the Bayou) despite the general belief that it was Moon Mullican’s version. … The origin of the words … may be unclear; however, the source of the melody is very clear. It descends from the 1929 Guidry Brothers’ recording of Le Garcon Negligent.
The Guidry Brothers recorded six songs at that 1929 session, but apparently never set foot in a record studio again.
According to Falcon’s account, “Cajun music was getting a foothold in the recording industry; getting discovered outside of south Louisiana for the very first time.”
The Guidry brothers were among several Cajun musicians who went to New Orleans in October 1929 to record their music for the major recording label Vocalion Records and, Falcon says, “some of their melodies, the first to be found on commercial recordings, can be recognized as familiar tunes we hear today.”
“But as quickly as they were discovered, they faded away,” he writes. “The group headed home … and were not discovered for almost 90 years … for most people, their music and identities were almost lost to time.”
A collection of Jim Bradshaw’s columns, Cajuns and Other Characters, is now available from Pelican Publishing. You can contact him at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

Cory Brodie has been named the new head football coach of the Kaplan Pirates.
Kaplan High Principal Patricia Thibodeaux made the announcement last Friday.
“Coach Brodie exudes all of the traits we are looking for in a leader and teacher,” said Thibodeaux. “I am confident he will maintain our tradition of excellence both in the classroom and on the field at Kaplan High School. We welcome Coach Brodie to our Pirate family and look forward with enthusiasm and promise on the new horizon.”
Brodie, who is 29, comes to Kaplan after serving as the defensive coordinator at Vermilion Catholic for the past two seasons, during which time the Eagles amassed a 19-3 record. He was the defensive coordinator and was also the head boys basketball coach. Brodie said he is grateful for this new opportunity.
“I am humbled and excited to work with the players, coaches, faculty, and the community of Kaplan,” said Brodie. “We will strive to be a positive and consistent pillar of excellence in the classroom, on the field, and in life.”
Brodie comes from a good stock of football knowledge.
His father is Craig Brodie, who was the head coach at Catholic High and Berwick High. Brodie’s uncle is Brent Indest, a former head coach at Kaplan High, along with Crowley, Abbeville, Comeaux and Catholic High.
Brodie was the defensive coordinator with his father for three years at Berwick. He moved across the river and became the defensive coordinator for Central Catholic for three years.
Brodie, a Catholic High graduate, said he had enjoyed his two-year stay in Vermilion Parish, which gave him the confidence to apply for the Kaplan job.
“I love the small-town community,” said Brodie. “Part of the success of a program is getting the community involved. I wanted the right situation. I know people go after coaching jobs, and they are not ready. I am ready, and Kaplan is a good fit for me. It is a community school, and that’s the type of school I want to be the head coach at.”
Does he plan to scrap Kaplan’s Wing-T offense for a VC’s spread offense where they throw the football 20 times a game?
He was not ready to say what offense Kaplan will be running next season. He first wants to meet with the assistant football coaches, meet the players, and then go from there.
Brodie will finish out the year at VC as a teacher but he will be going back and forth to Kaplan High to meet the players, coaches, and community.
VC head coach Broc Prejean is now in search of a new offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. Both are now high school head coaches.
Last week, Blaize, VC’s offensive coordinator, accepted a head coaching job at Westminster Academy in Opelousas. Now, Brodie is going to Kaplan.
“Kaplan got a dynamic, passionate coach. Very excited for Coach Brodie, both personally and professionally,” said VC head coach Broc Prejean. “He was meant to be a head coach and that was very clear to me being around him this past season, so with a guy like that it’s always a ‘when’ not an ‘if’. He did a tremendous job creating a culture of tenacious defense and relentless attitude. He brought a higher standard to our basketball program, so he leaves some big shoes to fill. It’s always a neat thing to see people achieve what they’ve worked for and deserve, so many congratulations and good fortune to the Pirates and Coach Brodie.
“This profession is all about relationships, and I know he and I will remain colleagues and friends throughout our careers. We lose a coach, but we also gain an ally in the coaching world. It’s an exciting time in Vermilion Parish football with all the new blood around, and he will add to that exponentially.”

According to Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office PIO Eddie Langlinais, the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a complaint of an Armed Robbery which occurred on the night of April 16, 2021.
The Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office’s Criminal Investigation Division developed information to secure felony warrants for Kenan Michael Willis, 18, Dequan Trevelle Turner, 18, and Latrell Dion Ashley, 18, all from Abbeville, LA.
According to the victim, the armed robbery was a result of the victim using social media in an attempt to trade a long gun for a different type of long gun, whereas the buyer communicated with the seller and arranged a time and place to meet for the “trade”. Allegedly, the result was the buyer (suspects) holding the seller at gunpoint and robbing the seller of the long gun.
With the assistance of the Abbeville Police Department, on the morning of April 18, the suspects were located within the city limits of Abbeville. The Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Special Response Team, was called to assist along with the Abbeville Police Department and Vermilion Parish Sheriff Detectives in the apprehension of Willis, Turner and Ashley. All three were taken into custody without incident. Upon the arrest, a search was conducted where two firearms and suspected illegal narcotics were located.
All three have been booked into the Vermilion Parish Correctional Center on warrants for Armed Robbery. The investigation is still ongoing and additional charges are pending.
According to Langlinais, this type of robbery is a case in point of the potential dangers of using social media to sell or trade firearms that often requires meeting with people you do not know. Langlinais recommends the use of a registered firearms dealer to buy and sell firearms, thereby avoiding these dangers and staying SAFE.
Sheriff Mike Couvillon would like to extend his thanks to Chief Bill Spearman and the Abbeville Police Department for their assistance in the apprehension of the three suspects.