Mitchell Naquin

Mitchell graduated from University High School in Baton Rouge. He then attended LSU for one year before transferring to California College of the Arts in San Francisco and graduating in Industrial/Product Design. He lived and worked in San Francisco for several years before returning to Baton Rouge where he co-founded monochrome furniture + design and Pro Fabrication. He was involved in the design, materials, lighting, and furniture for many of the houses, offices, and restaurants in Baton Rouge, If the building or furnishings are edgy and different, he probably had a hand in it. He also worked on projects in Colorado, California, and Florida.

He excelled at wakeboarding, skateboarding, snowboarding, and surfing. He was highly passionate about music—he was an incredible drummer and DJ. He also designed and built lighting systems and was an accomplished photographer, studying in Paris and selling large prints of his photographs.

From the time he was young, he loved traveling, spending time and making lifelong friends in Belize, Costa Rica, and Africa. His time in the Caribbean exposed him to rare animals and over the last 20+ years, he became an avid and highly successful breeder of tropical dart frogs working on occasion with the San Diego Zoo to breed some rare species. He always said he was successful at breeding some frogs that no one else could because of the humidity in Louisiana, but everyone knew it was because he played music for them. The family is working to move his entire large rare collection of these frogs to a permanent room in a zoo. His hope was to educate people about the importance of saving these frogs as so many are now extinct—he was writing a children’s book about the frogs to educate the next generation.

Mitchell was generous beyond measure, bringing tents, cases of water, food, and medicine to homeless people. From the time he was a small child, he would always give money to the homeless—mostly his allowance.

He is survived by his father and stepmother, John and Dana Naquin; his mother and stepfather Carol and John LaCour, his wife RyAn Wilson Naquin, his stepson Brody Jones, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and thousands of friends of all ages and nationalities. He was preceded in death by his fraternal grandparents Dorothy Hebert Naquin and Claude John Naquin Sr., and his maternal grandparents Marion Hebert James and Virgil Oliver Mitchell.

Mitchell suffered from asthma his entire life and passed away from an asthma attack. If you or a loved one suffers from asthma, please take it very seriously.

In lieu of a funeral (he hated for people to be sad), his friends have planned a celebration of his life at Chelsea’s Live, 1010 Nicholson Drive, BR, from 5-9 September 14. His dearest friends and family are invited.