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September 4, 1950 — August 27, 2022

We are saddened to announce the passing of Roger Dale Thompson, 71 years young who lost his battle with Pulmonary Fibrosis. He was hospitalized for four months while making an heroic attempt at a double-lung transplant at St. Lukes Hospital in Houston, Texas. He was loved and surrounded by his wife, children and sister.

Roger was born on September 4, 1950 in Bremen, Indiana. He was the son of Marie Nixon of Reno, NV and Eldon Thompson of Plymouth, IN. At the age of 10, he moved with his family to Reno, Nevada where he graduated from Reno High School in 1968.
He joined the Army in 1969 where he was trained as a helicopter pilot. He served in the Republic of Vietnam where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medals (35) as well as other decorations in recognition of his service. The Distinguished Flying Cross is the fourth highest for heroism and the highest award for extraordinary aerial achievement. He was shot down twice.
He was honorably discharged in November 1974 at the rank of Chief Warrant Officer. To say that Roger was a patriot would be an understatement. He loved his Country.

Roger had a work ethic like no other. Being the grandson of Romanian immigrants who came and worked hard to provide a good life for their family had a lasting impact on him, informing his work ethic as well as strengthening his tight knit family connections.
Roger loved his family and family reunions. On the year it was his turn to host the famous Solomon reunion, he went all out, turning his home into a massive crawfish feed and providing bayou tours by Bubba Smith. He flew in the U.S. Gulf Coast in support of our energy industry since the 1970s, which is what brought him to Louisiana, including 25 years working for Air Logistics.

Whenever he was offered a position flying anywhere in the world, he took it. While employed with Air Logistics, he worked in Honduras, where he flew for the U.S. State Department, Chile, Kuwait during the massive fires, and many times in Alaska.

After retiring from flying, Roger and his wife Roberta, built a real estate and ship repair operation on the Bayou Teche.

Roger was a straight-forward guy who would lend a hand to anyone willing to meet him halfway, which is to say, he wasn’t about giving a hand-out to make life easy, but he was all in if one were willing to take the help and then help themselves. There are any number of people who can attest to this but you will not find the evidence anywhere as he was not one to bring attention to himself.

Roger is survived by his wife Jeannie, his first wife Sue and their children, Christina Allison (Crocker) of NC, Matthew VanThompson (Sarah) of Washington D.C., Dale Thompson of New Iberia, grandchildren Ashley Allison, Mabon and Gwendolyn VanThompson, sister Sharon Irvin and husband Larry of Reno, NV and their children Joseph, Lizzy and Rachel Irvin, cousins Cindy Edes (DeAnn) and Gentry Edes (Happy) of Orange Co., CA. and numerous cousins in Indiana.

He was preceded in death by his parents Marie and Eldon, second wife Roberta, niece Adrienne Irvin and cousins Ronald Solomon and Debra Edes (Michael).

There will be a Celebration of Life on October 1st, at 1:00 p.m. at his home in Patterson, LA. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity of your choice in his name.

Paul Matthias Haeuber, 92, a resident of Patterson, Louisiana, passed away Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, at The Suites at Sugar Mill Point in Houma.

He was born Oct. 31, 1929, in Mascoutah, Illinois, the son of George Haeuber Sr. and Catherine Herr Haeuber.

He is survived by his brothers-in-law, Bob Hunter and wife Carolyn of Chickasha, Oklahoma, and William “Bill” Hunter and wife Colleen of Patterson.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Patsy Hunter Haeuber; and two brothers.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, Sept. 23, at Twin City Funeral Home with Father Francis Kayaye officiating. Visitation will be held Friday, Sept. 23, at Twin City Funeral Home from noon until the time of services. After services, he will be laid to rest in the Morgan City Cemetery Mausoleum, where military honors will be rendered by the East St. Mary Funeral Squad and Keesler Air Force Base.

Phoenix International Holdings announced that its new underwater wet weld procedure, developed at Bayou Vista, meets American Welding Society structural welding and underwater welding codes.

“Developed at our new testing and training facility in Bayou Vista, LA, this latest certification complements our 53+ certified welding procedures already in place and reinforces our ability to collaborate with the various classifying societies to bring to our clients pre-qualified procedures that help reduce client costs,” said Diving Program Manager Lance Shupe.

“Our diver/welder teams have done an outstanding job to continue to develop a range of permanent underwater welding solutions that anticipate the ever-changing demands of working in the marine environment,” said Chris Williams, vice president manned operations.

“Today’s announcement solidifies our commitment to offering innovative underwater solutions that save our clients time and money by enabling their assets to continue working, while also maintaining our safety-first approach to everything we do.”

Phoenix is an employee-owned, ISO 9001-2015 Management System-certified marine services contractor providing manned and unmanned underwater solutions design engineering, and project management services to a diverse set of clients worldwide.

Expertise is available from seven U.S. offices in the areas of wet and dry hyperbaric welding, NDT, subsea engineering, conventional and atmospheric diving, and autonomous underwater vehicle, remotely operated vehicle and submarine rescue operations.

The Nicholls State University football team squared off against its first FCS opponent of the season but was unable to crack the win column as Southeast Missouri State defeated the Colonels, 42-16, Saturday afternoon in Houck Stadium.

Nicholls (0-3) fell behind two touchdowns early and had chances to mount a comeback; however, the Redhawks (2-1) countered with big plays and had help from some Colonel miscues to earn the nom-conference victory.

Kohen Granier led the Nicholls offense with 249 yards and two touchdowns while receiver Al’Dontre Davis finished with eight receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. With the Colonels trailing 14-0 before halftime, Granier found tight end Lee Negrotto on a fourth-down try for a 5-yard touchdown.
SEMO wasted no time in answering, scoring on a 4-play, 75-yard drive that lasted just 1:34. Nicholls had a chance to cut into the deficit right before the break but a 40-yard field goal by Gavin Lasseigne hit the upright to keep the score at 21-7.

In the third quarter, the Redhawks scored on Geno Hess’ second of three touchdowns to go up three scores. Nicholls answered with a 37-yarder by Lasseigne for a 28-10 deficit but a blocked punt canceled out any momentum for the Colonels. Kylan Dupre’s punt was swatted away and Garrett Todd scooped up the ball and ran 29 yards for a touchdown.

Before the fourth, Davis hauled in a 19-yard touchdown catch from Granier for the final Colonel points. Nicholls needed just four plays for the scoring drive, with Davis adding a 38-yard grab.

Hess added his last touchdown of the day to make the final, 42-16. He finished the game with 70 yards on 14 carries with one rushing score.

For the third consecutive outing, Nicholls struggled on the ground as they totaled 50 yards rushing. Julien Gums carried the ball 12 times for 33 yards while Collin Guggenheim had 20 yards on seven carries. After not allowing a sack in the first two contests, Granier was sacked four times by the Redhawk defense.
Paxton DeLaurent led SEMO with 309 yards and three TDs on 22 of 32 passing. He threw an interception on the second drive as Tyler Morton notched his first career pick.

For the Colonel defense, Chase Brown had a career-high 13 tackles while Kylin White added eight.

Up next

Nicholls will play its home opener this Saturday (Sept. 24), hosting Jacksonville State. Kickoff at John L. Guidry Stadium is scheduled for 3 p.m.