Obituary for Obie Ray Lavespere
Funeral Services for Obie Ray “Fat Man” Lavespere will be held at 1:00 PM on Thursday, January 26, 2023 at Summerfield Baptist Church, located at 171 Summerfield Rd. Colfax, La. The church will open for family and friends from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Burial will follow at Aloha St. Rose Cemetery, 200 J N Fletcher Rd. Colfax, La.
Honored to serve as pallbearers will be Jody Lavespere, Tony Lavespere III, Michael Lavespere, Jeff Lavespere, Dewayne Lavespere, T.R. Lavespere, and Burt Lavespere.
Honorary Pallbearers are Daniel Lavespere, Dallas Lavespere, Austin Lavespere, Jared Allen, Dalton Kutej, Quinn Lavespere, and Amos Lavespere
Obie Ray “Fat Man” Lavespere was born to A.J and Kitty Stanfield Lavespere on August 12, 1943, in Aloha, La. In the early morning hours of Sunday, January 22, 2023, at 79 years of age, Obie Ray passed from this life at his home in Bagdad, La.
Mr. Lavespere is preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Euseb Armos “Timos” Jr. and Florestine St. Andre Lavespere; his maternal grandparents, Joe Jim and Carrie Lasyone Stanfield; his parents, A.J. Lavespere Sr. and Kitty Stanfield Lavespere Traylor; his stepfather of many years, Donald “Bump” Traylor; and his infant brother, Ed Lavespere. This past November his younger brother, Hulon Huey Lavespere passed away unexpectedly leaving an empty chair and broken hearts with the Lavespere crew.
He is survived by his wife, Theresa Hodnett Lavespere of Bagdad, La.; his daughter, Cheryl Lavespere and husband, Billy Lutes II of Colfax, La.; his son, Kevin Lavespere and wife, Becka of Bagdad, La.; six grandchildren, Emily Lutes Allen (Jared) of LeCompte, La., Daniel Lavespere of Colfax, La., Dallas Lavespere of Bagdad, La., Aimee Lutes Kutej (Dalton) of Lumberton, Tx., Austin Lavespere of Bagdad, La., Tyler Lavespere of Bagdad, La., a bonus grandson, Alan Simmons of Bagdad, La.; eight great grandchildren Collin and Cameron Allen, Carter, Cash, Camille, and Claire Kutej, Ashton Lavespere, Ellynnton Friend, and two bonus great grandsons, Jesse and Jayden “BamBam” Goodman. He is also survived by four brothers, Tony Lavespere (Becky) of Nantachie, La., Mervin (Vivian) Lavespere of Lone Pine, La., Ed Dale “Skip” (Melanie)Lavespere of O'Quinn Spur, La., Randy Lavespere of Colfax, La.; Eleven nephews and nieces, Jody Lavespere (Tina), Hope Lavespere, Tony Lavespere III (Emily), Michael Lavespere (Nikki), Jeff Lavespere (Erin), Dewayne “Scooter” Lavespere, Crystal Lavespere, Quinn Lavespere, T.R. Lavespere (Tonya), Alicia Lavespere Alsup (Daniel), Amos Lavespere, and a host of great nieces, great nephews, extended family, and many, many friends that will always cherish his memory and big smile.
Mr. Lavespere shared a wonderful life with his wife, Theresa. They were together for 64 years and would have celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary this March. He was a member of Summerfield Baptist Church and was schooled at Aloha Elementary and Colfax High School. He started Lavespere Timber with his best friend, Jeff Teddlie, in the early 1970’s and later continued the company with Ray O’Banion after the death of Mr. Teddlie. The years would see him and his brother, Tony Lavespere, partner to eventually form Lavespere Logging. This is the company that the two brothers would build into a prominent business that benefited the logging community for many years. He and his brother were big advocates of the Children’s Miracle Network and were very active in The Children’s Miracle Network’s Log A Load For Kids. One of his greatest achievements, though, in his logging years, was when they were inducted into the Louisiana Loggers Hall of Fame in September of 2010. After 42 years of logging, he had hauled enough logs and the decision was made to retire and sell the company so the brothers could RV around the country and see the world enjoying retirement while making memories with the real bosses, the wives. During this time many weekends were spent tailgating and enjoying the Nascar races.
Family was extremely important to Mr. Lavespere. There was nothing he would not do for his family and it showed when he decided to come out of “retirement” to sell crawfish with Grade A Crawfish for his grandson-in-law and granddaughter. He really enjoyed this time, meeting so many new people and making new friends. He never met a stranger and greeted everyone with that big smile that was always on his face. His favorite times and memories were made with his five brothers and families. Many weekends were spent with the Lavespere crew gathered around enjoying good food, lots of laughter, and the best story telling you could ever experience.
The family would like to thank everyone for the prayers, kind words, well wishes, and support that has been given to them throughout this difficult journey. They would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Abi Rasheed in Alexandria, La. and MD Anderson of Houston and their wonderful team of doctors including Dr. Milind Javle and Dr. Emanuel Cordero. To St. Joseph Hospice, there are just no words to express how dear your team is to us. Taylor, Brian, Shane, Sean, Mrs. Christine, and Justin you will never know how grateful we are and just how much “Paw-Paw” Obie loved you guys. In lieu of flowers, the family ask donations to be made to the Children’s Miracle Network or the American Cancer Society in support of Cholangiocarcinoma (Bile Duct and Liver Cancer).
Honored to serve as pallbearers will be Jody Lavespere, Tony Lavespere III, Michael Lavespere, Jeff Lavespere, Dewayne Lavespere, T.R. Lavespere, and Burt Lavespere.
Honorary Pallbearers are Daniel Lavespere, Dallas Lavespere, Austin Lavespere, Jared Allen, Dalton Kutej, Quinn Lavespere, and Amos Lavespere
Obie Ray “Fat Man” Lavespere was born to A.J and Kitty Stanfield Lavespere on August 12, 1943, in Aloha, La. In the early morning hours of Sunday, January 22, 2023, at 79 years of age, Obie Ray passed from this life at his home in Bagdad, La.
Mr. Lavespere is preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Euseb Armos “Timos” Jr. and Florestine St. Andre Lavespere; his maternal grandparents, Joe Jim and Carrie Lasyone Stanfield; his parents, A.J. Lavespere Sr. and Kitty Stanfield Lavespere Traylor; his stepfather of many years, Donald “Bump” Traylor; and his infant brother, Ed Lavespere. This past November his younger brother, Hulon Huey Lavespere passed away unexpectedly leaving an empty chair and broken hearts with the Lavespere crew.
He is survived by his wife, Theresa Hodnett Lavespere of Bagdad, La.; his daughter, Cheryl Lavespere and husband, Billy Lutes II of Colfax, La.; his son, Kevin Lavespere and wife, Becka of Bagdad, La.; six grandchildren, Emily Lutes Allen (Jared) of LeCompte, La., Daniel Lavespere of Colfax, La., Dallas Lavespere of Bagdad, La., Aimee Lutes Kutej (Dalton) of Lumberton, Tx., Austin Lavespere of Bagdad, La., Tyler Lavespere of Bagdad, La., a bonus grandson, Alan Simmons of Bagdad, La.; eight great grandchildren Collin and Cameron Allen, Carter, Cash, Camille, and Claire Kutej, Ashton Lavespere, Ellynnton Friend, and two bonus great grandsons, Jesse and Jayden “BamBam” Goodman. He is also survived by four brothers, Tony Lavespere (Becky) of Nantachie, La., Mervin (Vivian) Lavespere of Lone Pine, La., Ed Dale “Skip” (Melanie)Lavespere of O'Quinn Spur, La., Randy Lavespere of Colfax, La.; Eleven nephews and nieces, Jody Lavespere (Tina), Hope Lavespere, Tony Lavespere III (Emily), Michael Lavespere (Nikki), Jeff Lavespere (Erin), Dewayne “Scooter” Lavespere, Crystal Lavespere, Quinn Lavespere, T.R. Lavespere (Tonya), Alicia Lavespere Alsup (Daniel), Amos Lavespere, and a host of great nieces, great nephews, extended family, and many, many friends that will always cherish his memory and big smile.
Mr. Lavespere shared a wonderful life with his wife, Theresa. They were together for 64 years and would have celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary this March. He was a member of Summerfield Baptist Church and was schooled at Aloha Elementary and Colfax High School. He started Lavespere Timber with his best friend, Jeff Teddlie, in the early 1970’s and later continued the company with Ray O’Banion after the death of Mr. Teddlie. The years would see him and his brother, Tony Lavespere, partner to eventually form Lavespere Logging. This is the company that the two brothers would build into a prominent business that benefited the logging community for many years. He and his brother were big advocates of the Children’s Miracle Network and were very active in The Children’s Miracle Network’s Log A Load For Kids. One of his greatest achievements, though, in his logging years, was when they were inducted into the Louisiana Loggers Hall of Fame in September of 2010. After 42 years of logging, he had hauled enough logs and the decision was made to retire and sell the company so the brothers could RV around the country and see the world enjoying retirement while making memories with the real bosses, the wives. During this time many weekends were spent tailgating and enjoying the Nascar races.
Family was extremely important to Mr. Lavespere. There was nothing he would not do for his family and it showed when he decided to come out of “retirement” to sell crawfish with Grade A Crawfish for his grandson-in-law and granddaughter. He really enjoyed this time, meeting so many new people and making new friends. He never met a stranger and greeted everyone with that big smile that was always on his face. His favorite times and memories were made with his five brothers and families. Many weekends were spent with the Lavespere crew gathered around enjoying good food, lots of laughter, and the best story telling you could ever experience.
The family would like to thank everyone for the prayers, kind words, well wishes, and support that has been given to them throughout this difficult journey. They would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Abi Rasheed in Alexandria, La. and MD Anderson of Houston and their wonderful team of doctors including Dr. Milind Javle and Dr. Emanuel Cordero. To St. Joseph Hospice, there are just no words to express how dear your team is to us. Taylor, Brian, Shane, Sean, Mrs. Christine, and Justin you will never know how grateful we are and just how much “Paw-Paw” Obie loved you guys. In lieu of flowers, the family ask donations to be made to the Children’s Miracle Network or the American Cancer Society in support of Cholangiocarcinoma (Bile Duct and Liver Cancer).