Diana Declouette Jourdan was born in Opelousas, Louisiana, on February 22, 1945, to Herbert Declouette and Florena Thierry Declouette. She was the oldest of nine children. Her mother being sickly, she lived with her aunt and uncle, Eula and Frank Guillory. She attended Sacred Heart Church and W.O. Boston High School. Later, she married Shelton Jourdan, Jr., and to this union, a daughter, Lauren Renee, was born. Shelton’s job took him to Stanford, Connecticut, where Diana attended Wright Tech School, where she completed requirements for an LPN degree in nursing. The family relocated to Lake Charles, where “Jourdan,” as she was affectionately called, worked at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital. She was proud of the fact that she and a group of nurses started the first ICU-CCU unit at Memorial. She later worked as a stress-testing nurse for Doctors K. White, M. Turner, and M. Dupuis. Jourdan always wore her white uniform and was most professional with patients. “Jourdan” retired from a storied nursing career in 2022.
Jourdan has been called the “matriarch” of her large family. Relatives and extended family members always received letters, cards, and calls from Diana for whatever occasion it was in their lives. She visited the elderly and sick of her family and community and did community service in a quiet and unassuming manner. She was, in fact, what the Bible calls a “virtuous woman”.
Jourdan was preceded in death by her grandparents, Santon and Thomasine Theirry; parents Herbert and Florena Declouette; daughter Lauren Jourdan Harris; sisters Emily D. Pressey, Lena D. Lacour, Gayle Guillory-Cromer, and brother Larry Declouette.
She leaves to cherish her memories: special friend Charles A. Honore; sisters Jeanette D. Williams of Fort Worth, Texas; Gertude Declouette of Detroit, Michigan; M. Leger of Fort Worth, Texas; Julia Guillory of Beaumont, Texas; her esteemed son-in-law Curtis Harris; grandchildren Ahmad (Courtney) Harris; Amesha (Ainsly) Morgan, Asaundra Harris, and Asher Johnson.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed on Friday, August 08, 2025 at Hixson Funeral Home of Lake Charles from 6:00 PM until 8:30 PM with a rosary to be prayed at 7:00 PM and will resume Saturday, August 09, 2025 from 8:00 AM until 9:15 AM when we will depart for Sacred Heart Catholic Church for a Mass of Christian Burial. After mass, internment will follow at St. Ann Cemetery in Mallet, LA.
Farewell to a beautiful person who left this world infinitely better
