St. Clair Bienvenu

St. Clair Bienvenu, Sr. died on Friday, March 8 in Baton Rouge. He was born on May 6, 1922 in Laurel, Mississippi. He was preceded in death by his mother, Fabiola Guirard Bienvenu and his father, Edward Ignace Marie Bienvenu, Sr. He was also preceded in death by his older sister Lollie Belle Bienvenu Thorp and her husband John and his older brother, Edward Ignace Marie Bienvenu, Jr. and his wife Jean. He was a graduate of St. Vincent Academy in Baton Rouge and Bogalusa High School in Bogalusa, Louisiana. He graduated from LSU with a degree in Business Accounting. When news came of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, St. Clair was enrolled at LSU studying Engineering. Due to his deep patriotism for his country, he immediately dropped out of LSU and went to join the Navy where he served as a Carrier pilot, flying the F6F "hellcat" plane off of the U.S.S. Langley Carrier in the Pacific. He retired from the U.S. Navy with the rank of Senior Grade Lieutenant in 1946. While serving in the Pacific theater, he was involved in air strikes on the Marshall Islands, New Guinea, Truk, the Philippine Islands and the Mariana Islands. He was a survivor of the largest air battle in U.S. Navy history called "the Marianas Turkey Shoot" when 100 reserved U.S. Navy pilots on carriers were sent into the air to confront over 500 Japanese pilots who were coming against their fleet while the majority of the carrier group planes were out on a mission. Seventy-one of the 100 reserve U.S. pilots survived, but over 300 of the Japanese planes were shot down before the rest retreated. Later in the war, after being shot down over the Pacific off the coast of the Philippine Islands, St. Clair was pulled from the water with a broken back and returned by ship to the States for treatment and recovery of his injury. Eventually, he was stationed at the Pensacola Naval Air Station as a training pilot. There, he met, dated and married Martha Nell Sewell on June 2, 1946 in Pensacola, Florida. She was a science teacher at a middle school in Pensacola. They both returned to Baton Rouge after their wedding and have been residents of Baton Rouge ever since. He continued his studies at LSU after the war and was also working at the Baton Rouge Lumber Company where he was eventually promoted to Manager and President during his life career there. He oversaw the relocation of the Baton Rouge Lumber Company from its location downtown on the river to a more suburban location. During his time as President of the Baton Rouge Lumber Company, it grew to become the largest lumber company in the state of Louisiana. St. Clair was a member of the Lumber Dealers Association in Baton Rouge and was elected president of that organization. He was also president of the State Lumber Dealers Association. He was a member and president of the associate organization of the Home Builders Association made up of suppliers to members of that organization. He was on the Board of Directors of the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce. He was President of the Baton Rouge Better Business Bureau. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America and was the assistant Scoutmaster of his son's Boy Scout troop. He was a member of the Capital City Kiwanis Club and was the sponsor of the Key Club at University High School. His volunteer activities included fund raising for the United Way and for the Lady of the Lake Hospital. He was elected to the board of the Salvation Army. He was instrumental in working with Congressman Henson Moore to secure the U.S.S. Kidd out of mothballs and get it delivered to Baton Rouge as a war memorial. He was asked by Congressman Moore to be on the U.S.S Kidd Commission where he served as the treasurer and President of the Commission and as President of the U.S.S. Kidd Foundation. He is in the U.S.S. Kidd Hall of Honor. As a result of St. Clair's military service, in particular his involvement in the "Marianas Turkey Shoot" air battle during World War II, he was inducted into the "Ole War Skule", LSU Military Hall of Honor in 2009. In his retirement, he was co-owner of Gulf Coast Cypress in Baton Rouge. He was a member of the Baton Rouge Country Club and was a founding member of the Camelot Club in Baton Rouge. He was a founding member of the Krewe of Achilles, served on the board of that Krewe as treasurer and was King of that Krewe in the 1970s. He was a member of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church. He is survived by a younger brother, John Bienvenu of Baton Rouge. He is also survived by his wife of 66 years, Martha Nell Sewell Bienvenu. He is survived by three children and six grandchildren. His eldest daughter, Toni is married to Charles Ricky Shinabery and is a lifetime resident of Baton Rouge. Toni has one daughter: Lindsay St. Clair Brackin-Duncan. St. Clair's only son, St. Clair Bienvenu, Jr., is married to Janet Brockett Bienvenu. They have two sons: Brandon Baines Bienvenu and Benjamin Shelton Bienvenu. His youngest daughter, Barbara Louise, is married to Edward Joseph Grady. They have three children: Nathaniel Edward Grady, Catherine Anne Grady, and Stuart Bienvenu Grady. He has two surviving nephews and one surviving niece. His nephews are Richard Bienvenu (and his wife Michelle) of Baton Rouge and Charles Thorp (and his wife Jeanine). His niece is Jackie Womack (and her husband John). Visiting at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government Street, on Tuesday from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church on Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. until the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. Celebrated by the Rev. Miles Walsh. Interment in Roselawn Memorial Park. Pallbearers will be his grandsons Brandon Baines Bienvenu, Nathaniel Edward Grady, Benjamin Shelton Bienvenu and Stuart Bienvenu Grady and sons-in-Law, Edward Joseph Grady, Jr. and Charles Ricky Shinabery. Honorary pallbearers are Leo Brassett, Van Mayhall, Sr., Dr. Frederic Billings, Dr. George Jones, Maury Drummond, John Dale Powers and Captain Herbert Ladley, U.S.N.