Mark deClouet

Published 6:00 am Sunday, August 14, 2016

Mark Damian deClouet Sr. passed away peacefully at his home, surrounded by his family in Lafayette on August 11, 2016, (The Feast Day of St. Clare), at the age of 58, after courageously battling pancreatic cancer for the past two years.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 37 years, Janenne Cambre deClouet; his six children, Mark deClouet Jr. and his wife Karen Gard, Ellen deClouet Ritch and her husband Michael, Matthew deClouet and his wife Paige Skinner, Alexandre deClouet, Laura deClouet and Claire deClouet; six grandchildren, Mark Damian III, Gretchen Briette deClouet, Eli James, Clara Marie Ritch, Frances Rose deClouet and Ruthie Ann deClouet; his mother, Shirley Malm DeClouet; his five siblings, Alexander deClouet and his wife Dawn Vallot of New Iberia, Michael deClouet and his wife Emma Carret of Lafayette, Christine deClouet Taylor and her husband John of Crowley, Catherine deClouet Broussard and her husband Keith of Many and Gregory deClouet and his wife Karen Smith of Baton Rouge. He was preceded in death by his father, Paul H. DeClouet Jr., and his brother, David deClouet.

Mark was born on Aug. 19, 1957, in Lafayette to Paul and Shirley deClouet. He was the youngest of seven, born into a strong Catholic family that valued the spirit of competition. Mark married Janenne Cambre in the summer of 1979. Over the course of 17 years, they welcomed six beautiful children into the world and if that weren’t enough of a blessing, he opened his heart and his home to care for his mother-in-law Wanda Cambre, during her 10-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He graduated in marketing from USL in 1979 and embarked on a lifetime in sales. He worked for Dupre Logistics from 2001 to 2016 and was the Executive Sales Manager since 2013.

Mark valued the sense of community that is built through competition, a trait that was inherited from his father, which he in turn passed onto his children. Mark was a regular on the leaderboard during the years of the deClouet family’s Greater Golf Coast Challenge Invitational, where he was known to defeat the field by hitting precise iron shots off the tee. He was a two-time deClouet Egg Paque Champion, a feat held by a select few over its illustrious 35-year history. He raised his children to play soccer. It was through this medium that he impacted the lives of all who knew him and many who did not. From 1988 to 2016, he was a familiar figure at Moore Park, where he contributed to the development of Lafayette Youth Soccer Association (LYSA) and Cajun Soccer Club (CSC). Through his leadership, Mark Sr. helped mold LYSA and CSC into organizations that have touched the lives of many families in the Acadiana community, enabling their mission of player development, sportsmanship and community involvement.

Mark’s faith was the foundation of his life. Humility, kindness and respect were virtues that he regularly extolled. He was baptized in the Catholic faith as an infant, served as an altar boy at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in New Iberia and was a regular lecturer at St. Mary Mother of the Church for the past nine years. In the spring of 2016, accompanied by his wife Janenne and his son Matthew, he embarked on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, with the Order of Malta.

Visitation will be held from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. with the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 p.m. and a Rosary at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14, and Monday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Delhomme Funeral Home at 1011 Bertrand Dr. in Lafayette.

Funeral services will be held at St. Mary Mother of the Church, 419 Doucet Rd., Lafayette, on Monday, Aug. 15, The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at 2 pm. The Rev. Harold J. Trahan, pastor of St Mary Church, will preside and deliver the homily. Concelebrants are Reverend Hampton Davis III, the Rev. Gary Schexnayder and the Rev. Neil Pettit. Deacon Michael Crain will serve as Deacon of the Mass. Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery on Carmel Dr. in Lafayette.

Pallbearers will be Mark deClouet Jr., Matthew deClouet, Alexandre deClouet, Alex deClouet, Michael deClouet, Gregory DeClouet and Michael Ritch.

Honorary pallbearers are Keith Delcambre, Guy Hebert, David Lasseigne, Mark Sargent and Marcus Theunissen.

A special thanks goes out to Dr. Gene Briere, Dr. Vina Baker, MD Anderson, Hope 4 Cancer, Heart of Hospice and all of our family and friends for their love, support and guidance.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Order of Malta (Attn: Lourdes Pilgrimage), 1730 M Street NW, Suite 403, Washington, DC 20036.

“The horse is prepared for battle but victory and deliverance comes from the Lord.” – Proverbs 21:31