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Funeral services will be held on Thursday, March 30, 2023, at a 10:00 am Mass of Christian Burial in St. Mary Mother of the Church Catholic Church in Lafayette, for Maurice Diedrich Shannon, IV, age 66, better known as Rusdy, who passed away on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at The Carpenter House-St. Joseph Hospice in Lafayette.

Reverend Cedric Sonnier, Pastor of St. Mary Mother of the Church in Lafayette will officiate at the services.

Interment will be held in Morgan City Cemetery on Thursday, March 30, 2023, at a 1:00 pm graveside service led by Reverend Brett Lapeyrouse, Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Morgan City.

Immediately following the burial, a celebration of Rusdy’s life will held at 1210 David Dr. Morgan City, LA.

Survivors include his beloved wife of 34 years, Gwen Luke Shannon; his children, Erin Shannon and her husband, William Atkinson, Reese Shannon and his Fiancé, Caroline Opie, Thomas Shannon and his wife, Emily Spikes Shannon; his father, Maurice “Dickie” Shannon, III and his wife, Mary Shannon; his grandkids, Abigail Shannon, James Atkinson, Lucy Atkinson, and Samuel Atkinson, and his beloved fur baby, Bailey; his siblings, Patrick Shannon and his wife, Connie, Bridget Shannon Hancock and her husband, Walt, Colleen Shannon, Laurie Shannon, Neal Shannon, and Casey Shannon and his wife, Selena.

Preceded in death by his mother, Julie Dantagnan Stearns and her husband, Mac Stearns; his mother-in-law, Marion Luke, and father-in-law, Eston Luke; and beloved fur babies, Bella and Marty.

Born in Morgan City the eldest of seven children, Rusdy came into this world a natural leader. As a child, he entertained interests in science, mathematics, politics, and music. He spent a great deal of time helping out around his family business, eventually finding his calling.

Rusdy was an accomplished businessman. He was the fifth-generation President of his family business, Shannon Hardware, for over 30 years. A Morgan City native, he was a member of the Rotary Club, serving as president for a year. He was a member of Stanley Black & Decker Advisory Council, which was one of his proudest achievements.

He traveled the world on his business ventures, building relationships in countries such as China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Mexico. He was also an avid supporter of The Boy Scouts of America.

In his free time, he enjoyed hunting, knife making, shooting craps, and playing pool. A cigar aficionado, he indulged in trips to his favorite cigar shops. He enjoyed watching classic movies and learning about the ancient world, and even jamming to Led Zeppelin and The Moody Blues. Two of his proudest personal achievements were his 35 years of sobriety, and his recent Confirmation in the Catholic Church.

Most of all, he loved his family. He enjoyed taking his kids on cross country trips in their family motor home. He reveled in becoming a grandfather and cherished the life he built with the love of his life, Gwen, by his side.

Rusdy Shannon lived his life with passion, vigor, and conviction; he never approached anything halfheartedly, be that family, business, or choosing the right cigar. He will be sorely missed, but his presence will be forever felt by those whose lives he touched during his time on Earth.

Pallbearers will be Reese Shannon, Thomas Shannon, Patrick Shannon, Neal Shannon, Casey Shannon, and Lonny LaVerne.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Dickie Shannon, Matthew Hancock, Michael Guidry, Rickie Weber, Cody Bell, and “Hanko” Hoffpauir.

A Rosary will be recited followed by eulogies on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at 7:00 pm in Martin & Castille’s DOWNTOWN Location.

The family requests that visitation be observed on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm and will continue on Thursday morning from 8:00 am until time of services.

A heartfelt appreciation is extended by the Shannon family to the teams of: The Carpenter House - St. Joseph Hospice, Our Lady of Lourdes, Dr. Joseph Brierre, MD
Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Nizar Tannir, Dr. Zita Limm, and Dr. Adi Diab.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in memory of Maurice Diedrich Shannon IV’s to either:
Cathedral Carmel School — 848 Saint John St, Lafayette, LA 70501 —(337) 235-5577 —https://www.cathedralcarmel.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=2192837&typ...
OR — The Carpenter House- St. Joseph Hospice - 923 W. Pinhook Rd. Lafayette, LA 70503 —- 337-541-6400 — https://www.stjosephhospicefoundation.org/donations.php
View the obituary and guestbook online at www.mourning.com

Martin & Castille Funeral Home - DOWNTOWN, 330 St. Landry Street Lafayette, Louisiana 70506, 337-234-2311

June 16, 1938 — March 23, 2023

Vicente Gil, 84, a resident of Schriever, LA and formerly from Morgan City, LA., passed away peacefully Thursday, March 23, 2023 at his home.

Vicente Gil was born in Tela, Honduras. He was the son of Vicente and Soledad (Villanueva) Gil. He married Yolanda Gil on June 7, 1958, started a family, and moved to the United States in 1962. In addition, three young children made the journey with them and one born three months later after they arrived. Four years later, he had his final child. He became a citizen of the United States in 1969. He was known as Viejo, Papi, Toro, Tico, Tio Vicente, Pancho, and Mr. Gil. He lived life simply but was rich in love and respect from anyone that knew him. He was a loving, selfless, hardworking, man of all trades, and nurturing father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He leaves behind a legacy to his children that education and work ethics are the foundation to their future. With his encouragement, his five children received college educations. He went on to watch his grandchildren receive college educations and more. He was so proud of all his children and grandchildren.

He is survived by his five children, Jorge Gil and wife Belinda of Schriever, LA, Carlos Gil of Baton Rouge, LA, Miriam Gil Smith and husband Louis of Thibodaux, LA, Martha Gil Constant of Baton Rouge, LA and David Gil and wife Ginger of Schriever, LA; 11 grandchildren, Brandon Gil, Ciara Boudreaux Bernard, Ryan Gil, Michael Constant, Kade Smith, Katelyn Smith Block, Marissa Gil Rogers, Paris Gil, Kristen Gil Lyons, Nathan Constant, and Connor Gil; and 10 great-grandchildren, Rylie, Victoria, Mason, Addison, Charlie, Noah, Owen, Cruz, Luca, Lincoln and one on the way. One brother, Carlos Gil of Miami, FL; three sisters, Yolanda Gil Villanueva of Miami, FL; Juana Gil Villanueva and Rosa Gil Villanueva of Havana, Cuba and many nieces and nephews.

Vicente was preceded in his death by his wife, Yolanda Gil, his parents, Vicente and Soledad Gil, two brothers, Gustavo and Juan Gil and one sister Ofelia.

A visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. until Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 30, 2023 at St. Bridget Catholic Church, Schriever, LA. Following mass, Vicente will be laid to rest in the Morgan City Cemetery in Morgan City, LA at 12:30 p.m. Pallbearers will be Brandon Gil, Ryan Gil, Michael Constant, Kade Smith, Nathan Constant, and Connor Gil.

Online condolences can be given at www.thibodauxfuneralhome.com

Thibodaux Funeral Home, Inc. is in charge of arrangements.

Juanita Escort, 86, a native of Port Arthur, Texas, and resident of Morgan City, died Thursday, March 23, 2023 at her residence.

A memorial service will be Friday at 2 p.m. at Church of Christ in Morgan City.

She is survived by three sons, Clifton Escort Sr., Allen Escort and Andrew Escort; six daughters, Lillie Escort, Deatrel Hunter, Caroline Green, Mary Prejean, Juanita Escort and Ruth Escort; 21 grandchildren; 58 great-grandchildren; 27 great-great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives.

She was preceded in death by her parents and three sons.

Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

There’s a big debate going on over using Artificial Intelligence in the classroom that I’m not sure I fully understand (along with a whole lot of other stuff like that).

When I was a kid, the only artificial intelligence in our classroom came from the notes that one of my classmates stuffed into his sock before a big test.

Today our kids and grandkids are routinely using devices that were the stuff of science fiction back then, but the idea of using technology as a teaching tool appears to have come to south Louisiana earlier than I’d imagined.

They were using an “electronic classroom” in Gueydan in the 1950s.

The Abbeville Meridional described the high tech class set up for first-graders by the Grey Nuns of the Holy Cross at St. Philomena School:

“The tape-teaching method uses a two-way communication system, tape recordings, and other electronic devices to individualize the process of learning.”

Students used headphones “to follow the recorded instructions which supplement the material which has been presented … by the teacher.”

The system was developed several years earlier by Benedictine Sister Marie Theresa, who “visited in Gueydan to personally inspect the new set-up and assist in the first day of classes when pupils tried out their headsets for the first time.”

Sister St. Simon, the first-grade teacher in Gueydan, and several other teachers from the Diocese of Lafayette spent most of their summer learning how to use the machines and materials.

Tape teaching was also being introduced to sixth-graders at Our Lady of Fatima and eighth-graders at Cathedral Elementary in Lafayette, as well as to high school classes at DeLaSalle Normal, the Christian Brothers novitiate in Lafayette.

“The new method of teaching had received nation-wide acclaim because of the excellent progress made by pupils participating in it,” according to the Meridional.

It provided for “the simultaneous playing of three different lessons and the channeling of one or the other of these lessons to any combination of pupils.”
Monsignor Ignatius A. Martin, who was for many years superintendent of Catholic schools in the diocese, said the tape-teaching method gave “promise of accelerating
learning to a considerable degree.”

The whole thing was paid for with a grant from the Ford Foundation for the Advancement of Learning, which also funded another program that Sister St. Simon was involved in.

The second one was called the Thinking Curriculum Project “to study and analyze the process of thinking of first and second graders” and to develop a curriculum “to stimulate [their learning] to the highest level possible.”

Some of Sister St. Simon’s pupils were among the 500 chosen nationwide to participate in the study.

I probably would not have been chosen for that project if I’d been in her class, or would have contributed little to it if I had.

It’s been a long time since I was in the first or second grade, but I’m pretty sure my thinking processes during those years were mostly concerned with lunch, recess, and a little blonde girl named Mercedes.

You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.