Kellett W. Hathorn

He died Friday, Nov. 14, 2008, of a massive stroke. He was 78. Survived by his wife of 57 years, Joan Beauregard Hathorn; a brother, Jackie and wife Anita Hathorn, Lecompte; three daughters, Annette Sharp, Oklahoma City, Okla., Marilyn and husband Greg Quagliotti, Fairfax Station, Va., and Joan and husband Roger Taylor, Cartagena, Columbia; three sons, Daniel Hathorn, Alexandria, Paul Hathorn, Geismar, and Robert and wife Delma Hathorn, Corpus Christi, Texas. His extended family included Cecelia Casselberry, Tommy Sharp and Joseph Casselberry. Mr. Hathorn is also survived by grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Florence Sharp Travis and husband Eugene, Angela Sharp Worsham and husband Richard, Allison Sharp, Tori Taylor, Ty Taylor, Ashlie Hathorn Morales and husband Chase, Korey Hathorn, Shelby Hathorn, Shane Travis, Austin Worsham and Jackson Morales. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Maude Babb Hathorn; and a son, Kenneth Hathorn. In respect for our Mother, visitation will begin at 9 a.m. and precede the funeral Mass on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at St. George Catholic Church, located off Siegen Lane at 7808 St. George Drive in Baton Rouge. Mass is at noon with the Rev. Michael Schatzle officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Dad was raised on a small family farm in Lecompte and that time shaped the rest of his life. Dad graduated from LSU and after serving four years in the U.S. Air Force, he pursued a career in Cooperative Extension Service which was interrupted once when he went to the University of Wisconsin to complete his master's degree. Dad started as an assistant county agent in St. Tammany Parish. Farming and conservation measures were his passions that he shared when he began his work in 4-H. Most of Dad's 32 years of employment were spent in 4-H and he retired as the Louisiana State 4-H Agent. Dad managed 4-H Camp Grant Walker in Pollock that was home to thousands of elementary students each summer. Hathorn Trail, a nature walk and fitness trail, was dedicated to him around his retirement in 1988. Dad was instrumental in saving some of the original cabins on the campgrounds that were built in the Depression through the Civilian Conservation Corps Program, making sure that the past was incorporated into the future. Dad was ardent sportsman from watching everything that LSU did (baseball, basketball, football) to hunting and fishing. Dad taught his sons and daughters to hunt and fish and opened his heart and spent his time with many friends of his sons and daughters by coaching softball teams and taking friends of ours on hunting trips. The impact from his generosity was evident even in his last hours when the volunteer physician on duty at hospice recalled that he had been the recipient in his youth of hunting trip or two with Dad. Upon his retirement, Dad lovingly brought to life a family farm in St. Helena Parish that had been dormant for decades. Hathorn's Irish Town Farms had more than 15 years of production of u-pick blackberries and blueberries and an orchard of peach trees. When it was time to "slow down," he planted fig and pecan trees for the future generations to enjoy. We will honor our father by incorporating the past into the future. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you honor our Dad with a donation to the Louisiana 4-H Foundation, P.O. Box 25100, Baton Rouge, LA 70894, or to Hospice of Baton Rouge, 9063 Siegen Lane, Suite A, Baton Rouge, LA 70810. Arrangements by Rabenhorst Funeral Home East, 11000 Florida Blvd.