Grace Viator Crochet

It is with a heavy heart and tremendous sorrow that I announce the passing of my dearly beloved mother, Grace Viator Crochet, in her 102nd year. Yet, we rejoice that she is no longer suffering and is now enjoying her heavenly reward in the presence of our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ! She had a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus & the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Grace truly led a charmed life! Until early this year, she was in remarkably good health. She was blessed to have had the most wonderful parents, Whitney Joseph Viator and Edmai Dugas Viator, who raised her as a devout Catholic with good, strong Christian values, and the best husband anyone could ever hope to have, Venus Joseph "Charley" Crochet. Their marriage lasted 62 years until his unexpected passing.

Grace was also blessed with 35 first cousins, 8 aunts & their husbands, 7 uncles & their wives, as well as 17 nieces & nephews, and many close friends, including a special lifelong relationship with her first cousin, Jeanne "Cat" Fremin-Freyou, who was there when Grace was born & babysat her while her parents picked cotton.

Grace worked at the Daily Iberian & various little odd jobs, like gift wrapping at Morgan & Lindsey, before graduating from New Iberia High School in 1942. She attended S.L.I. (now U.L.L.) for business & secretarial science before joining Lofland Brothers Drilling Company (now Nabors) for 15 years until her daughter was born. She also took care of her parents & helped with her in-laws Alcide & Edmonia Dugas Crochet.

Grace was a great, healthy cook, wonderful homemaker, & somewhat of an aspiring fashion designer. Her mother was a master seamstress, so Grace & Cindy would choose the patterns, fabrics, & notions. Those sewing days were a lot of fun for all three of them.

In 1983, Bert & Cecile, the sisters who owned The Style Shop, offered Grace & Charley to purchase their business. Since the Viator family is one of the seven founding Spanish families of New Iberia, it would have been an honor and a dream come true to have owned & operated a business on Main Street in downtown New Iberia. She always regretted passing on that great opportunity because she, Charley, & Cindy could have enjoyed working together. Grace felt that they had to pass due to her daughter's life-threatening illness at that time.

Throughout all her life, Grace was an animal lover & had many pets, mainly German Shepherds, Labrador & Golden Retrievers, Collies, Shelties, Peek-a-[Poos], mini-horses (including her favorites, Treasure & Mystic), twin heifers (Annie Lou & Cyndi Lynn), and most recently her feline friend, Michaelangelo a.k.a. "Angel" who chose her & loved her so much.

"Gracie" can best be described as feisty, mischievous, friendly, happy, comical, nurturing, strong & a fighter. She was "like a mother" to all her daughter's classmates & friends, and there was always one or more spending Sunday afternoons at their home. So many people asked her to "adopt" them or to be their "other mother," among them her internist, Dr. Jay P. Jaikishen, and Sonny Thibodeaux. One of her most cherished compliments was to hear it stated that she should open an old-fashioned finishing or charm school to teach girls how to act properly & become respectable young ladies. When Grace was a teenager, she won dance contests, mostly to the beautiful Latin music of the Philo Gonzales orchestra.

Family vacations included several trips to Houston to watch the New York Yankees play spring pre-season games and to attend WWII veteran meetings in New Orleans & Jackson, MS. Grace also loved peek-a-poos.

Sincere thanks goes out to Dr. G.D. Sagrera & his office staff for their years of kind, compassionate care; hospitalists Dr. Reddy, Dr. Kaplan & their N.P., Lauren Doumit; consultants Dr. Irazarry & Dr. York; IMC's wonderful, caring nurses; Consolata Rehab & Skilled Nursing Facility, especially Anna Terrell, N.P. & Lisa La Salle for their exceptional wound care, as well as Charmaine Romero, P.T., her mother, & the entire rehab staff for making it challenging & fun for Grace; Soileau's Pharmacy; Acadiana Home Care, especially Earl, P.T., Tomika, & sister nurses Avery & Carly; Hospice of Acadiana, especially Emily, Katie, Dena, Tricia, & Dona; the staff of and all our friends at Garden View; and Monsignor Jefferson DeBlanc who prayed for Grace’s healing and attended to her spiritual needs.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for Grace V. Crochet at 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Loreauville, La., with Monsignor Jefferson DeBlanc celebrating & Deacon Durwood Viator & Fr. Paul Onuegbe concelebrating. Burial will follow at St. Joseph's Mausoleum.

A gathering of family & friends will take place at Evangeline Funeral Home in New Iberia on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 from 10:00 A.M. until time of service. Deacon Durwood "Durk" Viator will lead the rosary at 11:00 A.M.

Pallbearers will be Nathan Dugas, Tommy Dugas, Andy Reaux, Ethan Romero, Blaine Tauzin, Dudley "Sonny" Thibodeaux Jr., Guy Viator, Lance Viator, and Shane Viator.

Honorary pallbearers will be Paul Viator, Pat Viator, Malcolm Viator, Seth Viator, Sam Breaux, Rodney Breaux, Chester Blanchard, Chase Romero, and G.D. Sagrera, M.D.

Gift bearers will be Melanie B. Wiley and Miriam B. Hollier.

Readers will be Ethan Romero & Melanie Breaux Wiley.

Musical selections will be provided by Jodi Bollich.

Grateful for everything Grace lovingly did to help & guide her is her daughter Cindy. May Grace's memory be a blessing & encouragement to all who knew her love & friendship.

Evangeline Funeral Home of New Iberia is in charge of arrangements.