Joseph Frozard Olivier

Joseph Frozard “Joe” Olivier, who died this month at the age of 93, loved to tell this story about himself. First, he’d ask if anyone believed he’d done his first business deal at the age of four. Listeners would nod in wonderment and ask how that happened, and Joe would tell them.

His father, Frank Olivier, was instrumental in starting the sweet potato industry in southwest Louisiana after weevils had destroyed cotton growing. Frank had gone to Cuba to procure sweet potato vines, successfully planted them himself, and encouraged other local farmers to do so. He had designed and patented special wrapping paper and crates. One August day, Joe was playing in front of the shed where these materials were stored behind a padlocked door. Joe’s dad was away on business that day, and Joe was confronted by a distressed farmer who’d pulled up in his battered pickup.

The farmer had his crop of sweet potatoes ready to ship. He had rented space in a boxcar, waiting to be loaded. Every day he delayed (it was 1936) would cost him a penalty of $50- the equivalent of over $1,200 today. He needed the special packing materials. Joe used his judgement, decided the man was honest and definitely in need of help, and proceeded to unlock the combination of the padlock. He had heard his dad mutter the numbers (in French) under his breath each time he unlocked the storage shed. Joe let the man take what he needed. The man said he would return the next morning to pay Mr. Olivier.

The next day, Joe figured he’d better confess to his dad what had happened before the man arrived. Joe’s dad didn’t believe him. He said, “You couldn’t open that shed.” He opened it himself and discovered materials were gone. He was furious and threw the combination lock as far as he could, into the bayou behind the shed. The man’s pickup truck pulled into the driveway. He got out, introduced himself, thanked Mr. Olivier, paid him for the packing materials, and left. Joe’s dad was, at first, still angry, then- Joe said- nodded at him and, from that time on, began to take Joe with him on business appointments and trips.

Joe was born in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, the fifth of six children of Frank Olivier and Mary Tarlton Olivier: Frank, Jr. (died in infancy), Frances (Bourgeois), Eloise “Flip” (Whipp), and John Tarlton, then Joseph and, finally, Eleanor (Ramier). Of these, he is survived by his sister Eleanor.

When it came time for college, Joe’s dad said Joe could go anywhere, but he’d pay the tuition if Joe went to his own alma mater, Springhill College in Mobile, Alabama. Joe went to Springhill and graduated with honors, as an English major, in 1952. Just before graduation, Joe was one of several Springhill students tested by two recruiters for U.S. Navy Intelligence. Joe was the one selected and sent to the U.S. Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. He successfully completed his training in December 1952 and was commissioned in naval intelligence.

Joe served one year carrier duty as air intelligence officer and two years as an intelligence analyst stationed in Morocco. His last active duty assignment included a six-week ride-along with Admiral Robert Goldthwaite as his political advisor for a tour of duty in the Mediterranean. After active duty, Joe served an additional twenty-plus years in various capacities of reserve duty, retiring with the rank of Commander.

The Navy profoundly changed English major Joe’s thinking about science and technology. After discharge from active duty, he enrolled at Louisiana State University and earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He got a Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1960. He was licensed as a professional engineer (PE) in Louisiana in 1966.

Joe worked as a nuclear engineer, first with the Atomic Energy Commission and then with the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Department of Energy. He worked as a measurements specialist, assuring the validity of the full range of measurements employed in chemical, mechanical, and nuclear processing and fabricating facilities. He was also a national security analyst, reviewing existing and developing technologies and applications in the nuclear field and in national laboratories for national security implications.

He taught in various colleges and universities, instructing in physics, mathematics, and several areas of engineering. His experience included a total of four years with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, training Safeguards Inspectors to identify and perform isotopic and quantitative measurements for assuring compliance by signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

In 1962, Joe married Billie Gay, of Augusta, Georgia. Joe and Billie were not blessed with children of their own, but they welcomed numerous nieces and nephews, young cousins, and godchildren into their home and into their lives. Billie died in 2009, and in 2010, Joe met and married a widow, Sandra (Sandy) Montrose. He became the cherished stepdad of William (Carolyn) Montrose, Lynn (Keith) Herbert, and Lisa Montrose, and “Grandpa Joe” to seven grandchildren and two great granddaughters. His family and friends will greatly miss him.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 at Corpus Christi Chapel at 5:30 pm in Naples, FL.

Memorial donations may be made to the Building Fund of Corpus Christi Chapel, 5975 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples, FL 34116 or to AVOW Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, FL 34105 (avowcares.org).