Blanco called 'Evangeline for our time'

Gov. Kathleen Blanco is being remembered for her contributions to St. Mary as well as the rest of the state.
“For any of us who have Cajun blood in us,” said state Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, “she was the Evangeline of our time. She broke barriers for us, for women, as Cajuns, and as human beings.”
Blanco, who served as governor from 2004-08, died Sunday of cancer in Lafayette. She was 76.
Jones knew Blanco, a fellow Democrat, for over 50 years. He worked with her and for her. He was her personal assistant after Hurricane Katrina and said he was with her through “the depths of the good times and the bad times. But through it all she was the same Kathleen.”
Blanco had close connections with a lot of people in St. Mary Parish. She even spent time here duck hunting.
Jones said there was “virtually nothing that [St. Mary Parish] asked for that she didn’t do. She supported our parish and it supported her.”
In her 2003 runoff against Republican Bobby Jindal, Blanco carried St. Mary with 58% of the vote.
During her time as governor, she accomplished things both large and small for St. Mary Parish. One of her accomplishments was raising K-12 public school teacher pay. She also got the funding for Franklin Foundation Hospital as well as the La. 318 interchange, Jones said.
Other officials from around the state paid tribute.
Gov. John Bel Edwards described Blanco as “a woman of grace, faith and hope. She has left an eternal mark on all who knew her, because she was generous and unconditional in her love, warm in her embrace and genuinely interested in the welfare of others.”
“Kathleen was a dedicated public servant and a loving mother, daughter and wife,” said U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., in a statement. “She led a remarkable life but wasn’t immune to tragedy. She handled those tragedies with tremendous courage and unwavering faith. True faith makes you fearless, and that faith was Kathleen’s solace and strength. Louisiana has suffered a tremendous loss with her passing.”
One of the tragedies that Blanco endured touched St. Mary, too.
Ben Blanco, 19 and the youngest of Blanco’s children, was working in Amelia in December 1997, cutting scrap metal to earn extra money for Christmas. He was killed when a counterweight fell from an industrial crane.
Another son, Raymond Jr., and two other people working at the site escaped injury.
In the final debate in her 2003 campaign against Jindal, the final question posed to both candidates was to describe a defining moment in their lives.
Blanco chose to describe the death of her son. She tearfully recounted her son’s death.
“Kathleen loved Louisiana and served the state for decades,” Jindal said in a statement Sunday.
“She faced every struggle, including her last, with good cheer and a strong will. She will be missed.”
“Gov. Blanco conducted herself with class and grace,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. “She loved and served Louisiana. She will be missed.”
“Gov. Blanco was a trailblazer — she destroyed glass ceilings, fiercely defended the most vulnerable, and was a true Louisianan at heart who loved her home,” said Louisiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Carter Peterson. “The policies she fought for and the way she treated those around her reflected her values, morals and love for Louisiana in every way.
"Whether it was rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina or fighting to invest in our children’s education, she showed unwavering resolve in the face of our state’s biggest struggles.”