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Clinton Bernard Noel, 82, a resident of Morgan City, died Friday, May 10, 2019, at his residence.
Visitation will be Saturday from 9 a.m. until services at 11 a.m. at Railroad Avenue Church of Christ in Morgan City. Burial will follow in Morgan City Cemetery.
He is survived by six sons, Clinton Noel of the Woodlands, Texas, Clinton of Washington, Clyde Allen of Katy, Texas, Curtis Druilhet of Cameron, and Harry Turner and Michael Noel, both of Morgan City; seven daughters, Shelia Noel, Kathy Landry, Verda Allen and Yvette Turner, all of Morgan City, Margaret Webster of Cameron, Belinda Espree of Beaumont, Texas and June Thompson of Maryland; a brother, Otis Carter of Virginia; and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other relatives.
He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters, five brothers, and his maternal and paternal grandparents.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Steamboats revolutionized travel on the waterways of south Louisiana and did wonders for the economies of the places they visited. Unfortunately, one of their biggest drawbacks was that they had a marked tendency to blow up.
Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory, and "Disasters on the Western Waters," written in 1856 (Cincinnati: James T, Lloyd & Co.), lists more than 200 steamboat disasters in the early 1800s, mostly on the Mississippi, but the boats that plied the bayous of south Louisiana were no exception.
A particularly unfortunate year for boats steaming on Bayou Courtableau to or from the St. Landry port of Washington seemed to be 1845.
There was some sort of accident to the steamer Panola in January of that year. Eleven passengers put their names on a notice that appeared in the St. Landry Whig: “An accident having happened to the Panola, on her trip … to New Orleans … we the passengers on board said boat, take great pleasure in certifying to the prompt and efficient manner in which the Captain and officers discharged their respective duties. We believe the accident to have been unavoidable; and [testify] to the fidelity of the officers.”
The accident must not have been too serious. A month later the Panola made a trip from New Orleans “in about 50 hours, against a tremendous head wind up the Mississippi, and laying up one night,” according to another Whig report.
The explosion aboard the Elizabeth in April was much more tragic. The Whig reported on April 10 that the boat was at the junction of the Courtableau and the Atchafalaya at about three o’clock in the morning, when “her boilers collapsed, and completely tore her upper works to atoms.”
First mate Daniel York was killed by the explosion. Three other crewmen were never found, presumably blown overboard. Captain J. H. Gordon and first engineer James Marquise were “very badly scalded and bruised.”
The passengers, all of whom were in rooms well away from the explosion at that early hour, were “uninjured, except a few, who were slightly bruised.”
The clerk and barkeeper were also blown overboard but were able to swim to shore. “Their escape is miraculous,” the Whig claimed.
“As soon as Wilson, the clerk, gained the shore, he called for a rope and made the boat fast. … The boat was discovered to be on fire in three or four different places. The groans of the wounded, and the fearful escape just made, had unmanned almost every soul on board. There was a Lady, however, who discovered how things stood; and calling on the men to exert themselves and save their lives, seized a bucket herself, and was the first to commence the work of extinguishing the flames!” according to the Whig account.
The boat and cargo were not insured, but all was not completely lost. The captain’s desk was found floating in the bayou the next morning with about $3,000 still safe in one of its drawers.
As with the Panola, “all of the gentleman passengers” signed a newspaper notice to “testify that the accident was one of those unforeseen calamities which no human prudence could prevent, as the captain and officers were doing their duty when the explosion took place.”
Whig editor Joseph Etter joined in the absolution of Captain Gordon: “We had, a few days before, congratulated our readers that Capt. Gordon had again brought the Elizabeth into our bayou — believing her to be good in every particular, and knowing our unfortunate friend Gordon to be one of the most faithful and watchful officers ever in command of a boat. … The Captain was at his duty at the time of the explosion — though it took place between 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning — and had just given some orders in relation to the safety of the boat.
"The next thing he knew, he was rising into the air, and then fell among the ruins upon the deck, when the hot chimney fell on him, breaking two ribs and burning him dreadfully.”
The Whig editor claimed to have seen “two or three boats which have blown up,” but said he “never before saw one so completely wrecked in her upper works.”
A collection of Jim Bradshaw’s columns, “Cajuns and Other Characters,” is now available from Pelican Publishing. You can contact him at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

A starched white shirt, new blue jeans and his favorite boots were the outfit of choice for Gary. These items would have been his chosen going away attire. He was a man who enjoyed the simple pleasures of life, making it known to those he loved that the fancy life was not his way. Surrounded by family and friends enjoying a good meal made him happiest. Gary was a highly skilled welder/pipe fitter by trade and took great pride in his work. Gardening was a hobby he enjoyed in his retirement and his vegetables were blue ribbon worthy. He took great pleasure sharing them with his neighbors.
Gary Michael Boudreaux, most recent resident of Youngsville, age 71, went to be with the Lord on May 4th, 2019 while holding his wife Linda and daughter Barbara’s hands.
Gary is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Linda Walden Boudreaux; his daughter Barbara Boudreaux Gilley and her husband Hal of Destin, Florida; his 94 year old father Albert Joseph “PoBoy” Boudreaux of Baldwin; his sister Tana Boudreaux Begnaud and husband Nolan of Youngsville; four grandchildren, Cameron Gilley, Tyler Gilley, Kane Boudreaux and Koby Boudreaux; nephews, Parrish Begnaud and Hunter Begnaud and daughter in law Wendy Hebert Boudreaux.
Gary was preceded in death by his mother Bertha Broussard Boudreaux; godchild, Kiley Begnaud and his beloved son Rowdy Lee Boudreaux.
A private memorial service was held in Destin, Florida on May 9th, 2019. Gary left this world with his boots still on, riding off into the sunset to the tune of “The Cowboy Rides Away.”

A 16-year-old boy has been charged as an accessory in the shooting death of Kirby Courteaux Jr., 53, whose body was found earlier this month in Morgan City, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said in a news release.

The juvenile was is the third person facing charges in the incident. Terance Dupre, 22, of Montegut, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the case. Davonte Mathews, 21, of Montegut, is also wanted for murder and is still at large, Webre said.

Through investigation, detectives learned Dupre, Mathews and Courteaux were at a boat launch in Point-aux-Chenes on the night of May 11, when Courteaux was allegedly shot multiple times. Mathews and Dupre took Courteaux’s body and his truck, Webre said. They then transported his body to Morgan City and left him near a wooded area. Further investigation revealed a 16-year-old was traveling with them in the truck to Morgan City, the sheriff said.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives obtained a warrant for the juvenile on a charge of accessory after the fact to second-degree murder. On Thursday, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies located the juvenile and took him into custody. He was placed into the Lafourche Parish Juvenile Justice Facility in Thibodaux.

On May 15, Dupre was taken into custody after Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies found him driving the victim’s vehicle in Montegut. During questioning by Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office investigators, Dupre had to be hospitalized for treatment on an unrelated matter. He was released from the hospital on Thursday and booked into the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex. His bail is set at $1 million.

Investigators are still seeking Mathews. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to submit a tip anonymously through Crime Stoppers Bayou Region by phone at 1-800-743-7433 or online at www.crimestoppersbr.org. Tips can also be submitted using the P3 Tips app on your mobile device. Tipsters could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 in cash if the information leads to an arrest.