Joseph Leroy Cormier

We are sad to share with everyone in the community that our dad, Joseph Leroy Cormier passed away on June 25, 2026, at the age of 94 years old.

Funeral services officiated by Reverend Stephen S. Irudayasamy will be held at 2:00 PM, Monday, June 29, 2026, at Vincent Funeral Home of Kaplan. He will be laid to rest at Abshire Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be Brent Cormier, Lucas Cormier, Victor Cormier, Randy Hancock, Melvin Touchet, and Jimmie Cormier.

A visitation will take place at Vincent Funeral Home of Kaplan on Monday, June 29, 2026, from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM.

Joseph Leroy Cormier was born in Lyons Point, Louisiana on Feb 28, 1932. He married Marie Dolores Breaux on April 17, 1953. They recently celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary.

He is survived by his three children, son Jimmie Cormier and his wife Cynthia of Hempstead, TX, daughter Glenda (Cormier) Davis and her husband Rick Davis of Picayune, MS, and son Russell Cormier of Maurice; his seven grandchildren, Marsha Titus of Slidell, Nicole Hancock of Bend, OR, Rebecca McKissack of Houston, TX, Lucas Cormier of Cypress, TX, Victor Cormier of Houston, TX, Aaron Cormier of Bend, OR, and Brent Cormier of Maurice; and eight great-grandchildren.

He was proceeded in death by his father, Pierre Onezime Cormier Sr; his mother Oza Gaspard Cormier; and his 17 brothers, sisters, half-brothers, and half-sisters.

Joseph was the last born and last surviving child of 18 children born to his father, also known as P.O. (PePere Jim) Cormier.

Joseph Leroy spent his working career as a rice farm laborer, working for the Simon family for 35 years, in addition to the Couvillon family, Latiolais family, the Romero family and others. Leroy quit school at the age of 15 years old to go to work as a farm laborer when his father died at the age of 88 years old.

Leroy and Dolores loved to go to Cajun dances and were part of a couple’s group that frequented several dance halls in the Vermilion parish area for over 30 yrs.

He told many stories of growing up in Lyons Point on Bayou Que De Tortue, about fishing, hunting, working in the gardens, tending the animals, and cutting wood with his father and older brothers to heat their homes and cook their food.

He was proud of his first horse and named him Dutch. He told stories of running through the woods bareback on Dutch along with some of the other young men along the bayou. He often said times were tough back then, but they were happy. Their family enjoyed nature and the basics of life.

Leroy was also known for the thick glasses he wore starting at a young age due to vision problems. These problems progressed throughout his life and eventually caused him to stop driving and retire at a relatively early age in his late fifties. In the last few years of his life, he was virtually blind. But dad kept his sense of humor and was often heard trying to make one of his grandkids laugh at one of his very old jokes.

During a visit a few years ago at Richard Farms when Christian Richard explained to dad about the significant advances in farm equipment by describing the rice combine's ability to cut 40 ft wide at a pass, he is quoted often as saying, "Aw, come on now!"

Dad passed away from complications associated with Alzheimer's. Our family would like to share our deepest appreciation to Pelican Point Nursing Home and Vital Caring Hospice service for the compassionate and professional care they provided our dad and mom and our entire family for the past year and a half. Their work is extremely valuable to families during end-of-life transition.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages any donations to be made to Pelican Point Nursing Home in Maurice, La., a non-profit organization.

With deepest gratitude to the entire community, from the Cormier family.

All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home - Kaplan (337) 643-7276.