Charles "Mike" Michael Ikerd

With Jimmy Buffett playing and a parrot decoration declaring it’s 5 o’clock somewhere, Charles “Mike” Ikerd ordered his last call and pushed the boat back from the dock for the final time—shortly after 5 o’clock on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at The Carpenter House in Baton Rouge, LA. He was 71. A native of Meadville, MS, he swapped his redneck roots for a faux-Cajun twang, embarrassingly dropping a “dawlin’” into conversation with ease. His corn and shrimp soup and spaghetti jambalaya rivaled that of any chef or weekend warrior. He volunteered and donated countless pots to fundraising charities, school board functions, and family Sunday dinners. Born March 30, 1954, Mike was a lifelong outdoorsman, enjoying fishing, hunting, and camping. He was a Mississippi State fan in a family of LSU Tigers. As he entered his 40s, he realized something about himself: he was “too stubborn and stuck in his ways to work for someone else,” so he became the owner of LeBlanc Mechanical Inc., a commercial and industrial refrigeration company, until he retired in 2018, when he passed the business on to his son, Chris, and business partner Jason Babin. All four sons had Ph.D.s from the Mike Ikerd School of Doing Things. He was preceded in death by his father, Charles “CB” Brantley Ikerd of Roxie, MS; his mother, Corrine “Co” Blanchard Ikerd of New Orleans, LA; and his wife, Connie St. Pierre Ikerd of Prairieville, LA. He is survived by his sons, Chad (Whitney), Chris (Holly), Corey (Natalie), and Cody (Brent) Ikerd; their mother, Brenda Wiggins; grandchildren, Dylan, Devin, John, Harper, Jackson, and Benjamin; sister, Linda Ikerd Hernandez; and niece, Paula Hernandez Mabile (Blaine). Visitation is scheduled from 12:30–2:00 p.m. on Friday, March 20, 2026, at Ourso’s Funeral Home in Gonzales, LA, with services beginning at 2:00 p.m. Interment at Hope Haven Cemetery in Gonzales will follow. The family invites friends back to Mike’s house after the services for one last party and pot of spaghetti jambalaya. In lieu of flowers, Mike supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.