Louis Drouant

LAFAYETTE -- A Liturgy of the Word Service for Louis Drouant will be conducted at 2:00 p.m. Friday, June 2, 2023 at Delhomme Funeral Home on Bertrand Drive in Lafayette, LA. Entombment will follow in Calvary Catholic Cemetery Mausoleum. Visiting hours will be observed Friday from 8:30 a.m. until the time of service with a rosary being recited at 1:00 p.m. at Delhomme Funeral Home. Mr. Drouant died at 4:25 AM on Tuesday, May 30 at Brookdale Senior Living in Lafayette. During his life Louis served as both a rock and a pillow to his family. He was born on January 11, 1929, in New Orleans. He was raised on his grandparents dairy, and this helped to mold Louis into the hard working and dedicated husband and father that we would become. He attended Warren Easton High School in New Orleans and many times had a difficult walk/bus rides to get there. He played football there and this was a passion for him in life. Upon graduation, he received a scholarship to play football at LSU. He played his freshman season there and then left school and joined the Army. He was especially proud to be called a veteran. Upon his discharge from the Army, he decided to go to Southwestern Louisiana Institute in Lafayette and try out for the football team. This was a very important phase of his life. Louis played football, majored in Industrial Arts, and met the love of his life Kay Gilfoil while attending SLI. I have heard him say that he went back home after meeting Kay and telling everyone that he had met the woman that he was going to marry. He did so and they never looked back. They had six children and a whirlwind of activities surrounding them for the next 20 years. Louis was husband, father, coach, provider and confidant to his wife and children. Louis always had jobs in the construction field. Early on he worked for C Thad Montgomery Construction and did construction and blueprints. As time went on, he took a job with Interstate Electric Supply and got his foot into the world of electric supply. Interstate was sold and Louis moved on to other jobs. He eventually was approached to become a partner and manager in a new electrical supply in New Iberia. That supply house became his “Baby”, Bayou Electric and Specialty, Inc. That company went through many expansions over the next 30 years, including the procedure of the buying out of the other partners. The company could never have expanded to the point that it did without Louis’s tireless and hard nosed work ethic. He did not believe in hiring someone to do anything he thought he could accomplish. That meant little help in building his house and business as he thought he and his sons could accomplish anything. As Louis and Kay approached retirement, they became enchanted in Cajun dancing. They became the very best that they could be and were known by anyone in the area for their twirling around the dance floor. They became members of Renaissance Acadianne, a Cajun dancing and acting group, and performed many activities including: Festivals Acadian, Festivals International, trips to France and Canada teaching and performing. Sadly, Louis lost the love of his life on September 13, 2005 as Kay lost her battle with cancer. Louis is survived by his six children, David Drouant, Steve Drouant and wife Maggie, Keith Drouant, Bart Drouant and wife Missie, Karen Drouant, and Laura Bledsoe and husband Gary, brothers Freddy and LJ, sister Beryl, 13 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by 2 of his grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Gary Bledsoe, Keith Drouant, Bart Drouant, Leighton Drouant, Karl Vincent, Luke Bledsoe, Logan Bledsoe, and Paul Sapienza. The family would like to thank the people at Brookdale Senior Living, and St Joseph Hospice for making sure that Louis was as comfortable as possible in his final days. In Lieu of flowers the family asks that donations may be made in Louis Drouant's name to either Brookdale Senior Living, or St Joseph Hospice. Personal condolences may be sent to the Drouant family at www.delhommefuneralhome.com. Delhomme Funeral Home of Lafayette is in charge of the arrangements. Copyright Delhomme Funeral Homes, Inc. May 2023

Louis Drouant

January 11, 1929 - May 30, 2023