Gus Stacy III

He was born in Lake Charles on January 12, 1943.

A graduate of Lake Charles High School in 1961, he attended LSU where earned a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry in 1965 and a Master of Science degree in fisheries in 1967.

After completing his graduate work, his employment in Baton Rouge during the 60s, 70s, and 80s included the Louisiana Department of State Parks, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the Department of Natural Resources.

He later worked for the Office of Governor Buddy Roemer as Deputy Oil Spill Coordinator focused on mitigating the impact of oil spills on the flora and fauna of the Louisiana coast. In 1991, he was hired as an environmental adviser for Louisiana by the Marine Spill Response Corporation, a national organization formed in response to Alaska’s Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. While working for MSRC, he helped to develop an oil-spill response management course and then co-taught the course for many years across the state.

He also served for many years on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Environmental Advisory Committee, a multi-disciplinary consulting firm that advised the government on the safety of proposed projects to use salt domes for the underground storage of oil. In 2010 he was contracted as an adviser for cleanup efforts after Louisiana’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

In 1996 he was hired as Director of Research Services at the Louisiana Environmental Research Center at McNeese State University, continuing his work on environmental issues. In 1998 he became Director of Grants and Research campus-wide, a position he held until his retirement in 2005.

An avid fisherman, he fished in many states across the U.S. as well as testing the fresh and salt waters of Costa Rica, Australia, and Venezuela. He was most at home in the marshes, swamps, and woods of Louisiana—landscapes that he loved to photograph. He also had a passion for hunting deer, turkeys, and ducks. As a chef, he was especially appreciated by friends for his duck gumbo and fried fish.

As a child growing up on 11th Street, he filled the house and yard with snakes, insects, turtles, baby alligators, and a belligerent monkey.

He is survived by two brothers, James Rice and John William; a niece, Laura (Mrs. Walker) Fontenot; and their three children, Emery, Walker Jr., and Westin John. Also surviving are his long-time friends and caregivers the Kaoughs—Charlene, his goddaughter, Emily, and Lania. Gus was preceded in death by his father, Gus Stacy Jr.; his mother, Hazel Moss Stacy; and his lifelong friend, Taylor Kaough.

A celebration of life memorial will be announced at a future date.