Robert "Bob" Vaughan Montague Cordell II

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 15, 2018 at Delhomme Chapel of the Flowers in Lafayette for Robert Vaughan Montague Cordell II, who died on Saturday, December 1, 2018 at his home in Lafayette. He was 94. The family requests that visiting hours be observed from 10:00 AM until the time of service. A reception afterward will be held at the Petroleum Club of Lafayette, 111 Heymann Blvd. Robert was an attorney and geologist who fought in World War II. With his wife of 64 years, Louise Larriviere Cordell, he raised 7 children. Many of their children’s classmates could recite all their names: Lisa, Leslie, Laura, Linda, Robert, Ruffin, and Roger. He was born on a cotton farm on the Ouachita River near Monroe to John Hardeman Cordell II and Roberta Bagnell Napton Cordell. His father died when he was 12. His mother and his siblings, Leona Spence, John Hardeman (“Hardy”)Cordell III, Pindall Matheis, Lanier Smith, and William “Bill” Cordell, along with his beloved cousins Ann and Frances Cordell, also preceded him in death. Bob first left home in 1942 with a scholarship to Harvard College, as one of 39 incoming freshmen to receive the scholarship that year and the only one from the South. With World War II in full swing, he and many classmates left after a semester to join the army. He served in the 10th Mountain Division and fought in campaigns in Alaska and the Po River Valley of Italy. He stayed active in reunions of his division and corresponded all his life with the men with whom he served. He returned to Harvard briefly after the war but soon began working as an assistant to H.L. Hunt. He refined Mr. Hunt’s system for predicting and investing in the outcomes of horse races. When Bob told Mr. Hunt he wanted to return to college to finish his degree, Mr. Hunt said he’d be willing to hire him afterward but would pay him half. Bob completed a degree in geology at LSU, where he was the oldest active member of Kappa Sigma. He would eventually receive a 70-year membership pin from the fraternity; all three of his sons were initiated as Kappa Sigmas. He met his wife Louise at his first post-graduate job in Lafayette, and they soon afterward began their family. He eventually joined Ballard & Cordell, an oil and gas exploration company founded in part by his brother Hardy. In 1963 he returned to LSU for a law degree, and during the time he earned it, his family grew from 5 to 7 children. He subsequently worked as an attorney in private practice. After several years he rejoined Ballard & Cordell (later Balco) as their in-house attorney and chief geologist. In retirement he adapted his system for predicting horse races to predicting the performance of stocks, and he managed investments for many family members. He played golf several times a week at Oakbourne Country Club until age 92. Bob remained an avid LSU football fan all his life. For decades his season tickets were on the very top row of Tiger Stadium, and long-time friends always knew where to find him. He sponsored an LSU education for all his children. He also managed the family farms in Missouri and Louisiana and liked the idea of being “a gentleman farmer.” He was an unflappable father, no matter how many of their car and boat accidents his children explained to him. Louise and he took them on vacations to visit family in Texas, Missouri, and Arkansas, to his college reunion in Boston, to Surfside with all the Larrivieres, and with the Delhommes and Mosings to spots all along the Gulf Coast, including fan favorite Holly Beach. He duck-hunted and either allowed or required his children to go with him. He water-skied with his children until he was 50 and let them take the truck and boat to do that even when he did not accompany them. (Plenty.) He was an expert card player. If you were unlucky enough to sit behind him in the deal, you could count on never getting a discard you needed. He wrote funny poems to celebrate many occasions. He was a generous and present grandfather who managed to get all his grandchildren to call him “Handsome.” He had a well-honed dress code of white shirts with 2 pockets, red socks and sweaters, Stetson hats, and boots. He loved the cooking of his wife Louise, their beloved housekeeper Lorena Benoit, and his mother-in-law Leah Martin Larriviere (the original, best “Mawmaw”). Before Mawmaw died he presented her a World’s Greatest Cook trophy. Later in life he also put what he learned about cooking in the army to use for many family gatherings, sometimes storing a turkey in the car overnight with no room in the refrigerator. He always loved hot tea with honey, and ice cream. In recent years a favorite was the caramel cake his niece Bo would make for him. He is survived by his wife Louise; children Lisa Miller, Leslie Cordell and husband Chris Mouton, Laura Moffitt and husband Jay, Linda Cordell, Robert Cordell III and wife Holli, Ruffin Cordell and wife Julie, and Roger Cordell and wife Deb; grandchildren Edward Miller III and wife Angela, Henry Miller and wife Darcy, Frances Watson and husband Don, Emily Mouton, Katie Gonzalez and husband Alexander, John Moffitt and wife Lucy, Ellen Moffitt, Patrick Moffitt and wife Maddy, Jennifer Beal, Paul Beal, Vaughan Cordell IV, Caroline Cordell, Claire Cordell, Corinne Cordell, Madeline Cordell, John Ruffin Cordell, and Sam Cordell; and great-grandchildren Edward Miller IV, Kelly Miller, Juliet Miller, Luke Miller, Evangeline Watson, Gabriela Gonzalez, and Claire Moffitt. He is also survived by his brother-in-law Robley Larriviere and his wife Ann; nieces and nephews Lanier “Bo” Cordell Tankersley and husband Richmond, Mike Cordell, Bobbie Cordell, Hardeman Cordell IV and wife Susan, Caroline Cordell, Barclay Smith, Melinda Smith and husband Tim, Cordell Smith and husband David Jonas, Zada Watkins, Dan Allyn, Robert Matheis, Tom Matheis, Melissa Larriviere and husband Gary Hodges, Rob Larriviere and wife Elaine, Mike Larriviere and wife Lisa, and Dan Larriviere and wife Kyly. His surviving cousins by marriage include Louise Ziebell and Ann Metzinger. His family wishes to thank Bob’s longtime physicians, Dr. Michael Alexander and Dr. Mark Schnee. They are also grateful to all his caregivers but especially Misty Morvant, Heather Huval, and Marcelite Sinegal. Additionally a Mass will be held in honor of Mr. Cordell at St. John’s Cathedral, 515 Cathedral Street, on Friday, December 14,, 2018 at 1:30 PM. Memorial gifts may be made to the Salvation Army. Condolences may be sent to the Cordell family at www.delhommefuneralhome.com. Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA is in charge of funeral arrangements.

Robert "Bob" Vaughan Montague Cordell II

October 6, 1924 - December 1, 2018