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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2015
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WWW.HOUMATIMES.COM
REMEMBERING RAYMOND ‘YAK’ YAKUPZACK
WWII Houma vet loved learning, fixing things, helping others BY KARL GOMMEL karl@rushing-media.com Raymond Joseph Yakupzack was always doing something with knowledge. He was getting more of it, passing it along to whoever would listen or using it to rectify a problem. He was born on Feb. 27, 1926, in New Iberia, the son of Noelie Breaux Yakupzack of New Iberia and Paul Yakupzack, a Polish immigrant. Raymond, or “Yak” as he was known, entered the working world young, delivering papers for a printer as a boy. According to Yak’s wife, Edwina Milsted Yakupzack, he carried lessons from that first job with him for the rest of his life. “He was always very careful when he wrote letters; the printing had to be exactly right. He was always interested in the type of paper it was, and all that kind of thing,” Edwina said. After graduating from St. Peters Catholic High School in 1942, Yak enlisted in the Navy to help the World War II effort. He served as a radio technician in the Pacific Theater, attached to the Army. He was part of one of the first landing parties following the two nuclear bombings. While he never second-guessed his country’s actions, Edwina said her husband was quite aware of the horror that was visited on the Japanese. “He had seen it, how desolate it was. Of course, it was blocked off, they couldn’t get close to it. He said it was really, really terrible looking,” Edwina said. Following the war, Yak continued pursuing his passion for electronics by studying electrical engineering at the Southwest Louisiana Institute, now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. It was here that he and Edwina met each other. According to Edwina, she and
COURTESY
A Houma resident for the last 66 years, Raymond Joseph “Yak” Yakupzack would read anything he could get his hands on and fix any technological issue someone had. Raymond Yakupzack died at the age of 89 on Dec. 4. her friends would hitchhike the 20 miles back to New Iberia after classes ended. One day, her classes ended at noon. Edwina’s sister didn’t want her getting a ride by herself, and she knew Yak headed home around the same time. She arranged for them to hitchhike together, although the two weren’t the best at getting home. “When I had him there as a companion, we’d never get a ride. When I went by myself, we’d have a ride in 10 minutes. With him, the bus passed us up!” Edwina said. As both time and cars passed the
OBITUARIES The abbreviated Terrebonne and Lafourche obituaries listed below can be viewed in full online at houmatimes.com.
two, a mutual affinity for cold ones warmed up each one to the other. “So, he said, ‘You drink beer?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I drink beer,’ and that’s how we met. We did get a ride, eventually, about 7 o’clock,” Edwina said. After 66 years of marriage, children Paul and Laura, four grandchildren and five-great grandchildren, that common ground seemed to have paid off. After graduation and marriage in 1949, the couple set up in Houma, where the husband worked for Schlumberger as an engineer. He worked with them
until 1955, and in 1957 he set up Yak’s Electronic Services, letting him tinker with gadgets full-time. However, his business did not reap massive rewards, but not for any lack of technical skill. Instead, it was Yak’s love for the theoretical that held back his bottom line, according to Edwina. “You say, I’ll put in a new picture tube and fix it in 10 minutes and you’re back in business. No, Yak wanted to find out why the picture tube didn’t work,” Edwina said. “So, he would work for days and nights and everything, until he found the fine, little thing that was causing the problem, and he’d replace that.” Raymond Saadi has known Edwina and her husband for the last 60 years through La Petit Theatre De Terrebonne. Raymond said that Yak’s love for fixing electronics and helping people extended to his friends, no questions asked. “I don’t care what the situation was, what time of day, night, weekend, holidays. If you had a problem and you needed some help, you could call Yak and he’d be there for you. If I had stuff I couldn’t fix at my house, I could call Yak. He could fix almost anything,” Saadi said. However, sometimes that helpfulness would pop up at the wrong times, such as when at a friend’s house. While the rest of the party was watching a television program, Yak would be oblivious to it, instead fretting about the technical aspects of the television itself. If the TV’s picture wasn’t quite right, Yak was not letting tact get in between him and the solution. “Right in the middle of when you’re finding out who did it, Yak would jump up and screw around with it so you’d never find out who did it,” Edwina said. Yak also worked with the City of Houma, managing the power and water plants and Waterworks Dis-
the Terrebonne Council on Aging. Chauvin Funeral Home.
Bonnie Bouvier Adelaide Fonseca Adelaide Fonseca, 84, a native of Houma, La., died Dec. 25, 2015. Mrs. Fonseca was a graduate of Terrebonne High School in 1948. She had a career as a beautician for more than 40 years. Mrs. Fonseca was a devout Catholic and lived a happy and fulfilled life. She was a parishioner of St. Bernadette Soubirous Catholic Church. Mrs. Fonseca is survived by her son, Norman Paul Fonseca; two grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and brother, Charles Joseph Darcey. Visitation is today, from 9 a.m. to service time, at St. Bernadette Soubirous Catholic Church. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:30 a.m. at the church, with burial at St. Francis de Sales Cemetery No. 2. Chauvin Funeral Home.
Aubrey LeCompte Aubrey James LeCompte, 90, a native and resident of Chauvin, La., died at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Mr. LeCompte was a member and parishioner of St. Joseph Catholic Church. He worked at Higgins during World War II. He was the owner of a hardware business and dry dock for 69 years. He was the secretary and treasurer for the Lacache School. He was an usher for many years at St. Joseph Church in Chauvin, LA. Mr. LeCompte is survived by his sons, Daniel, Timothy (Lorita) and John LeCompte; daughters, Linda (Larry) Chauvin, Dorian (Richard) Breaux and Corine (John) Ellis; brothers, Chester (Carolyn) and Charles (Leona) LeCompte; sisters, Helen Soudelier, Barbara (J.B.) Breaux; sister-in-law, Louella LeCompte; 15 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren. Burial is at St. Joseph Catholic Church cemetery. Chauvin Funeral Home.
Billie Pellegrin Billie Fae Stevens Pellegrin, 81, a native of Lafourche Crossing in Thibodaux and a resident of Houma, La., died at 7:44 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Mrs. Pellegrin was a parishioner of Annunziata Catholic Church and a member of the Lady’s Altar Society for many years. She is survived by her husband, L.P. Pellegrin; sons, Glynn (Susan), Lynn (Monica) and Barry (Monica) Pellegrin; daughter, Pamela Pellegrin; brothers, Michael and Gillis (Cecile) Guidry Jr.; sister, Norma Jane (Mickey) Duplantis; six grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; two godchildren; and godmother, Lily May Stevens. Visitation is today, from 9 a.m. to service time, at Annunziata Catholic Church. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. at the church with burial at St. Francis de Sales Cemetery No. 2. In lieu of flowers the family ask that donations be made to
Bonnie Bourgeois Bouvier, 66, a native and resident of Raceland, La., died Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Mrs. Bouvier loved the outdoors, especially visiting her horses and rabbits, and going hunting and fishing. She worked for the U.S. Postal Service. She is survived by her sons, Taylor and Henry Bouvier; daughter, Victoria (companion: Kirklin “Nookie” Matherne) Bouvier; sisters, Annette Bourgeois and Julie Sapia; brotherin-law, Val Babin; and seven grandchildren. Falgout Funeral Home.
Joseph Jarreau Jr. Joseph C. “Joe” Jarreau Jr., a native of Lockport and a resident of Thibodaux, La., died Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015. Mr. Jarreau is survived by his mother, Sonja F. Jarreau; daughter, Tiffany (Gerald) Sicard; brothers, Harris (Nikki) and Ron (Michelle) Jarreau; sisters, Lisa Jarreau Lachney and Monah Jarreau Folse; and five grandchildren. A private burial will take place at a later date. Samart-Mothe Funeral Home.
Clarence Breaux Clarence “Quock” Joseph Breaux Sr., 99, a native and resident of Larose, La., died Dec. 22, 2015. Mr. Breaux was an avid gardener who loved the outdoors, being in the marsh, and going to the camp to trap, and did so up until his 90s. He loved telling stories and visiting with his family and friends, especially those at the truck stop, and enjoyed watching baseball. Mr. Breaux is survived by his daughters Carolyn (Russell) Smith, Kathleen (Randall) Plaisance, and Pat (Norman) Guidry; 10 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; six great-great-grandchildren; brother, Numa Breaux; and sisters, Laura Rousse, Daisy Taylor and Victoria Yarborough. Burial is at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church cemetery. Samart-Mothe Funeral Home.
Celeste Eagle Celeste Lirette Eagle, 32, a native of Raceland and a resident of Houma, La., died Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. Mrs. Eagle was a member of Lafourche Fire District No. 1 Volunteer. As in life, she continues to give to others by becoming an organ and tissue donor. She is survived by her husband, Jared Eagle; stepson, Jude Eagle; daughters, Chloe and Ava Eagle; parents, John and Linda Foret Lirette; sisters, Allison Lirette and Stephanie Lirette Thibodaux; grandfather, Windom Foret; mother-inlaw, Susan Blakeman. In lieu of flowers, donations to help with funeral expenses are greatly appreciated. Burial is at Holy Rosary Cemetery.
trict No. 1 for years. He took a brief break from local water to chase bigger engineering fish in the summer of 1961, trying to join Wernher von Braun’s rocket program with NASA. While Yak got the job in Cape Canaveral, Florida, his heritage got in the way. As a first-generation American, he wasn’t granted security clearance, and was sent to work in the other location in Huntsville, Alabama. By the time he earned clearance, he decided he’d rather be back in Houma, so he and Edwina returned. Yak eventually earned a Master of Business Administration in 1980 from Nicholls, where he also taught as a professor in the engineering technology department. His students would refer to their “firm, but fair” teacher’s tests as “Yak attacks,” and he reveled in the chance to impart knowledge to others. Between his love for technology and his limitless reading list, primarily books on World War II, Yak was always spouting off to someone about something. “He was a character in a way, but he was very smart. He was erudite. He read a lot of books and remembered what he read. He could talk to you about almost any subject,” Saadi said. At Yak and Edwina’s home, there are multiple floor-to-ceiling bookcases, carrying volumes from a wide range of topics. While Edwina, an English teacher, always had eyes for fiction, her spouse would make her an expert in whatever technical or historical topic he was focused on. Raymond Joseph Yakupzack died on Dec. 4, 2015. Edwina remembers her husband’s driven curiosity and desire to share fondly. “Yak was a witty man,” his wife said. “He was strange in many ways. He was always fun. And he was always very knowledgeable.”
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Samart Funeral Home.
Lester Thomas Lester Dwayne Thomas, 41, a resident of Raceland and native of Morgan City, La., died at 2:46 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. Mr. Thomas is survived by his daughter, Lessix Thomas; son, Rashaud Thomas; mother, Joyce Skinner-Thomas; brothers, Jason (Earlisha) Thomas and Sheldon Skinner; sister, Leslie Skinner; grandfather, Emanuel Skinner Jr. Burial is at Morgan City Cemetery. Jones Funeral Home.
William Desselle William Patrick Desselle, 55, a native of Houma and resident of Bourg, La., died at 10 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. Mr. Desselle enjoyed fishing, hunting and the outdoors. He is survived by his son, Ross (Heidi) Desselle; daughter, Brittany (Layne) Dupre; and sister, Susan (Myron) Neil. Burial is at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary cemetery. Chauvin Funeral Home.
Taylor Galjour Taylor J. Galjour, 58, a native and resident of Larose, La., died Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. Mr. Galjour is survived by his wife, Patricia “Trish” Galjour; sons, Al Galjour and Josh Galjour; daughters, Dana Jo Lefort and Lacey Galjour; brothers, T-John Jr., Drake, Chris and Wade Galjour; sisters, Tina Reed and Dolic Galjour; and 10 grandchildren. A private burial will take place at a later date. Samart-Mothe Funeral Home.
Marion Danos Marion Savoie Danos, 83, a native and resident of Larose, La., died Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. Mrs. Danos is survived by her husband, Tilman Danos; daughters, Paula Danos and Myra (Mark Anthony) Valentine; three grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and sisters, Ethlel Danos and Lois Cantrelle. Burial is at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church Cemetery. Samart-Mothe Funeral Home
Nelly Samanie Nelly Lorin Samanie, 94, a native of Dieppe, France and a resident of Houma, La., died Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. Mrs. Samaine was a Stanley and Avon representative. She was an avid storyteller and loved to go fishing. She was the first Mardi Gras Queen for Shady Lane Apt. She also loved going to bingo on Wednesdays. SEE OBITUARIES, PAGE A7