Chris Tavile Duplechain

Funeral Services will be held at a 11:00 am Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at St. Mary Church for Chris Tavile Duplechain, 85, who passed away on October 3, 2010 at 7:30 am at his residence. Very Reverend Robie Robichaux of Lafayette will be Celebrant of the Mass and will conduct the funeral services. Burial will take place in Calvary Cemetery. Mr. Duplechain, a resident of Lafayette, LA, was the son of the late Francois Duplechain of Durald, Louisiana and the former Corice Rozas Duplechain of Durald, Louisiana. Chris was a member of St. Mary Church. He attended SLI, was president of the Newman Club in 1949, was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and attended one year at the University of Nottingham, England, and graduated as outstanding student of the year in 1951. He was listed in Who's Who in 1950. Following graduation, he took up broadcasting as the first French news caster at KEUN radio station in Eunice. From there he opened and managed KVPI in Ville Platte, LA where he met his wife, Laura Lou Soileau. In 1961, he moved his family to Franklin, LA and put KFRA Radio on the air with the assistance of engineer, John Pitre; where Chris was vice president and general manager of the station until his retirement in 1983. He was active in civic organizations and received numerous awards throughout his life. In Ville Platte, he was president of the Lions Club, the Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce, and was awarded citizen of the year in 1956. He received the service award in the field of conservation education through radio broadcasting. (While in Ville Platte, he organized a talent show on the radio in Bunkie where the original drum player, "Little Ricky" on the I Love Lucy television series.) In Franklin, he was a member of the Rotary Club, and was an officer in the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters. He received the outstanding service to community award during hurricanes Hilda and Betsy. He was a member of the Society for the Advancement of Good English. Following his retirement, he worked as a front man with Habitat for Humanity providing housing for the under privileged. He served as president of AARP in Lafayette in 1990. Chris had a variety of interests throughout his lifetime. He was a bee keeper, a gardener, a wine maker, a wood worker, a harmonica player, a music lover, and he loved jigsaw puzzles. As a young man, he built a model, to scale, of his childhood home while recovering from an illness. This model is currently displayed at the Liberty Museum in Eunice, LA. He served as lector at St. Mary's Catholic Church and also a member of the Senior's Group. Chris accomplished much throughout his life in spite of a lifelong battle with Osteomylitis. He was a faithful husband and wonderful father and a friend to many. He will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Laura Lou Soileau Duplechain of Lafayette; three daughters, Virginia Duplechain Kelly of Lafayette, Christine Kimmel and husband Gary of Greentown, IN, and Sandra West and husband Troy of Alexandria, LA; one son, Michael Timothy Duplechain and wife Marcia of Hendersonville, NC; eight grandchildren, Tiffany Kelly Chiarulli and husband Eugene of Youngsville, Amanda Kimmel of Dallas, TX, Airman Marlin Kimmel of Beale Air Force Base, CA, Luke Kimmel of Greentown, IN, Christopher West, Zachary West, Spencer West and David West all of Alexandria, LA; and his God-children. He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters, Esther Blanchard and Lorena Boone; and six brothers, Thanes, Cleveland, Claude, Murphy, Dallas, and L.J. Duplechain. The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Delhomme Funeral Home of Lafayette on Monday, October 4, 2010, from 11:00 am until 9:00 pm and on Tuesday from 8:00 am until the time of service. A rosary will be recited at 7:00 pm in the funeral home Monday evening. Personal condolences may be sent to the Duplechain family at www.delhommefuneralhome.com. Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA, is in charge of funeral arrangements.

Chris Tavile Duplechain

December 6, 1924 - October 3, 2010