Alvin Troxclair

Alvin Louis Troxclair, 92, died peacefully on Sunday, June 25, 2017 at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge after a brief illness. He was born on July 14, 1924 on Burton Plantation in St. James Parish, and was a long-time resident of Bayou Goula, Louisiana. Visitation will be held on Thursday, June 29, 2017 from 8:30 am until a funeral Mass at 12 pm Entombment will follow in Our Lady of Prompt Succor Cemetery under the direction of Ourso Funeral Home.

He was first and foremost a Catholic, and was an active member of Our Lady of Prompt Succor Catholic Church in White Castle, where he served as an usher and was a regular participant in Eucharistic Adoration. Prior to its closing, he was an integral member of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Bayou Goula, dutifully opening the church, ushering, and ringing the bell for 67 years on Sundays. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and Holy Name Society, and for most of his life partook in an annual retreat at Manresa. He was a retired farmer, raising rice, sugar cane and soybeans over the span of his farming career. He was also a prolific gardener, and was especially proud of his pecan and fruit trees, the bounty of which he joyfully shared with family and neighbors. When Alvin gave you “a little taste” of something he grew, the bag was overflowing, and often filled your car’s trunk. He was the family historian, and his love of family and appreciation for his ancestors was borne out in his genealogy research and preservation of family history and stories – stories he picked up from over 30 years of caring for his elderly aunts and uncles. He volunteered countless hours and more than a decade working on the preservation of St. Joseph Plantation Home in Vacherie, the ancestral home of his mother. He hosted the annual New Year’s family reunion at his Bayou Goula home for many years, where he entertained younger generations with stories of the family and French songs from his youth. He always stressed honesty and the Catholic religious values of the Troxclair family in his stories. We will sorely miss his stories, his kindness and generosity, and that little smile of his. Survivors include two sisters-in-law, Iris Troxclair and Betty Jo Troxclair of Baton Rouge, and a brother-in-law, William Siegel of River Ridge, and 19 nieces and nephews: Lee Gaspard and Gregory Gaspard of Houston, Maria Seamans of McGehee, Ark., Jerome Gaspard and Louis Gaspard Sr. of New Iberia, Michelle Resweber of Scott, Alice Tira of Ashburn, VA, Nick Troxclair of Denham Springs, Bonnie Troxclair, Ruby Painter and Bill Troxclair of Baton Rouge, Carlin Beckman of Evansville, IN, Sharon Siegel of Prospect, KY, Jill Siegel of Midlothian, VA, Kim Smith of Cedar Rapids, IA, Brian Siegel of O’Fallon, MO, Aimee Hansen and Carol Decoteau of Prairieville, and Donald Troxclair Jr. of Baton Rouge, along with their spouses and families. He is also survived by a host of cousins; great and great-great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Louis Nicholas and Virginia Simon Troxclair; brothers, Roland Troxclair, Donald Troxclair, Laurent Troxclair and infant Stephen Troxclair; and sisters, Mabel T. Gaspard, Marie Troxclair, Laurence Troxclair and Alma T. Siegel. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in his honor to the Friends of St. Paul Church, P.O. Box 1481, Plaquemine, LA 70765.