Coach Milton C. Broussard

"Coach Broussard" "Onion"Milton Charles Broussard Sr. died at 4 a.m.Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2006, at Our Lady of theLakeRegionalMedicalCenter, surrounded by his loving wife and children. He was 71. Visitation at Rabenhorst Funeral Home East, 11000 Florida Blvd., was on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., with recitation of the rosary at 7 p.m. Visiting at St. Gerard Majella Catholic Church, 5354 Plank Road, on Friday from 8 a.m. until Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. Interment in St. Gabriel Cemetery in St. Gabriel. He was born in Lafayette, raised in Sunshine, near St. Gabriel, and lived his adult life in north Baton Rouge, where he raised 12 children with his wife of 48 years, Mary Guillot Broussard. He was a high school coach for 45 years, with most of his career spent at Baker High, where he coached football, wrestling and track, and taught many life lessons. He was also a lifetime member of the Louisiana High School Coaches Association and a longtime member of the Louisiana Cattleman's Association. He was a graduate ofCatholicHigh School, class of 1953, and earned a bachelor's degree in education from theUniversityofSouthwestern Louisianaand a master's degree at LSU. He was a devout Catholic and longtime member of St. Gerard Majella Church. Survivors include his wife; 12 children and their spouses, Mary and Thomas Acosta, Martha Broussard, Milton Jr. and Margaret Broussard, Jeanne Broussard, Laura and Ken Duhe, Donna Broussard, Alex and Pam Broussard, Maurice Broussard, Ella and Brian Brousseau, Jane Broussard Clarke and William Clarke, Martin and Robin Broussard, and Gabrielle Broussard and Kenny Murungi; and grandchildren, William Acosta, Emily and Charlie Broussard, Grace, Adam and Emma Duhe, Cecilia and Jude Broussard, Olivia, Alex and Isabella Broussard, Noah Broussard, Lucas Broussard, Mary and Janie Clarke and Jimmy and Joe Brousseau. He is also survived by his devoted brother, Vernon Joseph Broussard Sr.; numerous nieces and nephews; and longtime loyal friend, Alvin Daigle. He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph E. and Ella Morillon Broussard; sister, Mattie Broussard Hickman; and two infant grandchildren, Ann Marie Acosta and Benjamin Jerome Broussard. To our Daddy, coaching high school athletics was more than a job; it was a calling that he pursued with a passion. He had a special fondness for all of his student athletes and took a personal interest in their lives that went beyond the classroom and the football field. Along with his longtime positions at Baker High, he also coached at St. Bernard Catholic School inBreauxBridge, his alma mater, Catholic High in Baton Rouge, St. Johnin Plaquemine, Istrouma High and East Iberville High. In the 1960s and again in the 1990s, he was on the coaching staff at Redemptorist High, where he helped the Wolves win two state championships. He was inducted into the Redemptorist High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002. He was known for his devotion to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, as well as his love of cigars and quoting great coaches, carrying with him those quotes on small note cards. Along with our memories of Daddy as a coach, we will remember him on his farm in Sunshine, running cattle, growing huge gardens and picking pecans. No holiday will ever be the same without the contest between Daddy's rice dressing and Mom's cornbread dressing. Pallbearers will be his sons, grandsons and sons-in-law. Honorary pallbearers are the many coaches he worked with throughout his career. The family wishes to thank the caring physicians, nurses and dialysis technicians who assisted him, and especially all the former athletes, fellow coaches and friends who visited Coach Broussard in the final years of his life. Donations may be made in his memory to St. Gerard Majella Church or St. Gabriel Catholic Church. "I am, among men, most richly blessed." -- Roy Campanella.