It was September of 1916 on the family farm by a midwife near the Avery Island Road and Migues Road in Iberia Parish. Dr. Sebastian came by on a horse and buggy. His mother, Effie was in labor for him for three days. Dr. Sebastian asked the midwife “if she had not lost her way” meaning she might lose the baby or both baby and mother. But to that union, Floyd Joseph Gautreau was born on the 24th of September that year, and passed away peacefully Wednesday, November 13, 2019 at his residence surrounded by his loving family. He was 103.
As a child of the 1920s, Floyd went to school and did childhood chores. The school house was a small, wooden building near the corner of what is now C. Broussard and Rynella Road. The children were brought to school by wagon or a mule skid; sometimes they walked to school.
On the farm there were about three hundred assorted chickens, duck, and geese to be fed, watered, and penned daily which Floyd helped do. There were also mules and cows that were watered daily by the use of a hand pump. One or two of the cows was milked daily to supply milk for the family. Also, wood needed to be gathered and cut as there were two fireplaces in the house. The kitchen was separate from the house with a wood burning stove.
His father, Anthony, was a sugarcane farmer. Floyd would help him with the sugarcane as well as a very large garden. Sometime in the 1920s Floyd went to work for Steinburg Furs and Simon’s Glass that was located on Main Street of New Iberia. In the 1930s he helped build military barracks at Camp Claiborne near Alexandria, Louisiana. As World War II approached, Floyd went to work at the Delta Shipyard in New Orleans. He worked on building ships and boats for the war effort.
On February 15,1942 Floyd married the love of his life Ruby Hulin. Upon returning to the farm at the end of WWII, Floyd raised two crops of sugar cane with his father using a 1939 Ford 9N tractor.
Electricity came to the farm in 1946, The dairy industry was starting and Floyd decided to start building his dairy. Cement was poured and blocks were laid for a ten-stall station dairy barn. He sold his milk in ten-gallon cans to Pelican Creamery in New Iberia.
In 1960 Floyd invested with Chore Boy Pipeline Systems. Many of the dairies converted from cans to pipelines within the dairy; as the cows were milked, the milk went directly to a large refrigerated tank. He operated the dairy for thirty years.
In 1968 Floyd purchased a newly developed cattle trailer called a gooseneck. It was needed to haul cattle and horses to and from stock yards and sales. For over thirty years he hauled not only his own animals but farm animals for friends and neighbors throughout Iberia Parish and the surrounding area.
In 1998 Floyd received the “Cattleman of the Year” award for his dedication to the cattle Industry in Iberia Parish.
In 2010 he was selected to the “Louisiana Cattlemen Association Golden Spur Club” in honor and with deep appreciation for over thirty years of faithful and dedicated service to the Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association and the cattle industry of Louisiana.
Floyd loved to work whether it was with the cattle, tractors in the field, or any other task. If you had a project at the farm, Floyd was “right with you.” He also enjoyed family gatherings, but always found a project to do. He was always the last to stop working and the last to come in.
Floyd will always be remembered by family and friends for being a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, brother-in-law, uncle and friend.
He is survived by four children: Ken, wife Donna; Tim, wife Debbie; Steve, fiancé Gayle; and Eve Marie Talley, husband David. His grandchildren include: Barry Gautreau, Stacey Derouen, Kristen Gautreau, Ashlyn Gautreau, Matthew Gautreau, Lucas Gautreau, Jonathan Gautreau, Jacob Gautreau, Emily Bowen, Benjamin Talley, Adam Talley, Allison Hebert, Nicholas Talley, and Mary Katherine Talley. His great-grandchildren include Gavin Gautreau, Braelynn Gautreau, Ellionne Bowen, Hudson
Bowen, Rory Talley, Owen Hebert, Harper Gautreau, Grace Gautreau and Kolbi Lynn Louise Gautreau. He is also survived by two sisters: Nettie Larson and Susie Colley.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Ruby Marie Hulin; his parents Anthony and Effie Deslatte Gautreau; by a brother and sister-in law Roy and Wanda Gautreau; sisters and brother-in-laws Roy and Grace Remy, Freddie and Loudella Migues, and Larry and Effie Hayes and a sister Betty Schwinn.
A Mass of Christian Burial celebrating his life will be held at 10:00 am Saturday, November 16, 2019 at St. Marcellus Catholic Church with Fr. James Nguyen as celebrant. Following the mass, Floyd will be laid to rest alongside his wife Ruby at Memorial Park Cemetery.
A gathering of family and friends will be held at Evangeline Funeral Home on Friday from 4:00 pm until 10:00 pm, with the rosary being recited at 6:30 pm. Visiting hours will resume on Saturday from 8:00 am until 9:30 am.
Serving as pallbearers are his grandsons Barry, Matthew, Lucas, Jonathan an Jacob Gautreau, and Benjamin, Adam and Nicholas Talley. Honorary pallbearers are his great grandsons, Gavin Gautreau, Rory Talley and Owen Hebert.
To view the online obituary and video tribute, and to share memories please visit Mr. Gautreaus memorial page at www.evangelinefuneralhome.com
Evangeline Funeral Home of New Iberia is in charge of arrangements.
