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NEW IBERIA — A Home-going Celebration will be held for Albert Antoine, Sr. 91 at 1:00 P.M. Saturday, December 2, 2017 at Fletcher Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Maria St. Julien officiating.
He will await the resurrection in Heavenly Rest Cemetery in Jeanerette, LA.
Visitation will be held on Saturday at the funeral home commencing at 8:00 A.M. until time of service.
A resident of Jeanerette, LA, he passed at 2:05 P.M. Thursday, November 23, 2017 at his residence.
He leaves to cherish his fond memory, his wife, Victoria Triche Antoine of Jeanerette, LA; three daughters: Cynthia Antoine of Franklin, LA, Rebecca Gibson (Jackie) of Jeanerette, LA and Vickie Gibson (Robert) of New Iberia, LA; one son, Albert Antoine, Jr. of Jeanerette, LA; two sisters: Evelyn Lewis Antoine and Faye Antoine; one brother, Alfred Williams; one sister-in-law, Shirley Williams; step-mother, Lovenia Lewis Antoine all of Jeanerette LA; two step-sisters: Cynthia Jones of Columbus, OH and Anna Lewis of Lafayette, LA; one step-brother, Jerald Lewis of New Iberia, LA; 18 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, 3 great-great grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, numerous relatives and friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Sidney and Ernestine Bradley Antoine; one daughter, Linda Faye Williams, one brother, Colbert Williams, two grandchildren: Donald Williams and Emile Williams; two great-grandchildren: Arianna Maxie and Quincey Mouton; one step-sister, Helen Shanette and a sister-in-law, Dora Williams.
Active pallbearers will be Albert Antoine, Jr., Robert Gibson, Sr., Robert Gibson, Jr., Paul Antoine, Gaspard Williams and David Williams.
Honorary pallbearers will be Alfred Wiles, Aaron Antoine, Jackie Ray, Rickey Webster, Butler Jackson and Earl Williams.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Fletcher Funeral Home 609 West Admiral Doyle Drive New Iberia, LA 70560.
Condolences may be expressed at www.fletcherfuneralhomes.org.

Update: Power has been restored in the City of Kaplan.

KAPLAN — Parts of the City of Kaplan will be without power Thursday as crews worked to repair a crossarm on an ENTERGY substation.
Workers with the City of Kaplan and SLEMCO were on site Thursday morning awaiting ENTERGY’s crew to make repairs to its equipment.
Mary Laurent, a spokesperson for SLEMCO, said the repairs had to be done immediately.
“Making repairs now will prevent more serious destruction later and will keep the line from falling to the ground, which is extremely dangerous to the public,” Laurent said. “The work cannot safely be done while the transmission grid remains energized.”
“At this time we are not sure how long the outage will be, but crews will be working as quickly as possible.”
“We appreciate your patience and your understanding.”

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church welcomed Rev. Deacon Madge McLain to Abbeville a little more than three months ago.
It is another stop on the journey, one that has brought her through various jobs and eventually to the church.
“In August of this year,” McLain said, “I was ordained as a transitional deacon, a ministry that must be fulfilled for a period of six months. In February of 2018, I will be made a priest in the Episcopal church and my hope is to continue at St. Paul’s for many years.”
McLain’s early years took her to many places.
“Having a petroleum engineer as a daddy and being born in an era of exploration and oil production, meant that our family moved considerably,” McLain said. “I was actually born in Lafayette and growing up, I would call numerous places in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma home. As a junior in high school the family returned to Lafayette where I finished high school and graduated from U. S. L. with a degree in Behavioral Sciences.”
McLain said she enjoyed living in different parts of the country, but is happy to have made Lafayette and Acadiana her home for the last 35 years.
“It has been my experience that each part of the country is unique and wonderful in its own way,” McLain said, “but there is nowhere quite like Acadiana.”
As for the career part of life, McLain spent most of that time in retail purchasing and management.
“I spent a number of years with the J.C. Penney Co. and then with Marshall’s Nursery, a retail plant nursery and gift shop, for 28 years,” McLain said. “When Marshall, the owner, retired and I was forced to go once again into the job market, I was “adopted” by Ted Viator, a landscape architect and event coordinator in Lafayette.
“While working for Ted, my call to ordained ministry rang out and I began the journey toward ordination.”
That journey began with a simple question.
“I did not know that I was called to ordained ministry until I was asked by my parish priest to consider the discernment process,” McLain said. “Quiet prayer and reflection made it clear that I would begin this process that I was called to begin. Overall this process, in the depth and thoroughness of discovery, took about two years. After obtaining approval from our Bishop and the commission on ministry, my ministry education of three years began.”
McLain is happy to have found herself in Abbeville, a place that has had a welcoming feeling.
“It is an extraordinary thing to me that being only 21 miles apart that Lafayette and Abbeville are so very different,” McLain said. “Abbeville moves to a rhythm of kindness and gentleness and where the days move in a dimension of time that I have not ever experienced. People in Abbeville make time for others, time for family, time for friends, time for strangers, such as I was only three months ago.
“I have been welcomed into this community with open arms.”
Abbeville is a place, McLain said, she is certain has strong ties to faith, regardless of the denomination.
“This is a community that is rooted in faith of a number of different faith traditions,” McLain said. “One need only drive around town on Sunday morning for witness of where the heart of this town exists.”
After only a few months, McLain’s heart is in Abbeville.
“Perhaps the best way that I can summarize how I feel about Abbeville and my St. Paul’s family, is that I just believe that I will stay awhile,” McLain said.

April 14, 1942 ~ November 23, 2017

ABBEVILLE — Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday, December 2, 2017 at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville honoring the life of Margaret Aline Stroud, 75, who died Thursday, November 23, 2017 at Maison De Lafayette.
Deacon Byron Soley will officiate the services. Burial will be held at a later date at Graceland Cemetery.
Margaret and her husband Dwight were the proud owners of Stroud’s Shady Oaks Restaurant located in Abbeville and Lafayette. They served many in the community with several award winning meals.
Margaret is survived by her godchildren, Mary Margaret Bellinger, Bryan Baudoin and Christopher Broussard; caregiver, Wendy Baudoin; and many extended family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Dwight LaRoe Stroud; parents, Otis Bertrand and the former Agnes Theriot; and son, Martin 'Marty" Morrell Stroud.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Saturday, December 2, 2017 from 9:00 AM until time of services. A rosary will be prayed at 11:00 AM.
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.