The Life of Carbert Wade Navarre
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, February 19, 2013, at an 11:00 AM Mass of Christian Burial in La Chapelle de Martin & Castille for C. Wade Navarre, 81, who died on Sunday, February 17, 2013 at his residence in Kaplan, Louisiana.
Reverend Kendal Faulk, Pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Rayne, Louisiana will be the Celebrant of the Funeral Mass and will conduct the funeral services. Lectors will be Samantha Navarre and Philip Navarre. Giftbearers will be Madison Thibodeaux and Brody Navarre. Phyllis Simar, organist and Charlotte Jagneaux, soloist will sing "Amazing Grace," "Be Not Afraid," How Great Thou Art," and "On Eagles Wings" for the services.
Survivors include his beloved wife of 56 years, Codrey Meaux Navarre; two daughters, Lucy Webre, and Tammy Navarre and her companion Alan Prejean; six sons, Keith Navarre, Emile Navarre and his wife Polly, Tony Navarre, Wade Navarre II and his wife Joan, Tommy Navarre and his partner Jim Mauseth, and Brady Navarre and his companion Melissa Durio; 21 grandchildren; 16 Great Grandchildren; and 2 Great Great Grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Maxie Navarre, and one son-in-law, Bill Webre.
C. Wade Navarre died peacefully in his favorite chair, at his home in Kaplan, Louisiana, one day shy of his 82nd birthday.
He was born in Bosco, Louisiana, the second son to Romain Navarre and Odile Guillot. At about age 2, the family moved to Rayne, Louisiana, where he was raised, in the house where his mother continued to live until her death at age 96.
Wade attended Rayne public schools and for a time attended the seminary in Rayne. All of his children and grandchildren are relieved that his calling to religious life didn’t take. A highlight of his youth was his position as “water boy” for the Rayne High School football team, Louisiana State Champions 1943. After graduation, he attended McNeese State University and Southwestern Louisiana Institute where he played football and briefly studied dentistry. It was another happy coincidence that this career choice didn’t stick. He served in the U.S. Air Force at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Wade was a family man and loving father. One of only two children, he always wanted a big family and he got his wish. He married Sadie Guidry and together they had three sons. He later married Codrey Meaux and together they raised three more sons and two daughters. Wade was “Papa” to six boys and two girls.
He was proud of his Cajun French heritage. His great-great-great-grandfather, Victor Navarre, was one of three sons of a prosperous sugarcane and tobacco plantation owner, who immigrated to New Orleans in 1809 after escaping the slave revolt in Haiti. Victor married the daughter of a wealthy New Orleans businessman and eventually moved west to settle on the banks of the Vermillion River, north of present day Lafayette.
C. Wade was an independent businessman and entrepreneur. In the 1950s, he had an Oldsmobile/Cadillac automobile dealership in Lafayette. For a time he also showed Appaloosa horses, taking many winning ribbons. He worked as an independent “land man” leasing oil & gas right of ways from the 1950s until the time of his death. He enjoyed putting together deals and most recently drilled two successful gas wells in Vermillion Parish. However, the majority of his career was devoted to the horse racing industry. He loved horses and enjoyed breeding, raising, training, owning and racing quarter horses in a career that spanned more than fifty years. Who can forget those long summer days at the farm or those endless nights waiting for the horses to come back from the track at Evangeline or Delta Downs. He reached the pinnacle of his success when, in 1985, his Louisiana-bred quarter horse, MrTruckaJet, won the prestigious “All American Futurity” in Ruidoso, New Mexico. At the time, this was considered the “richest horse race in the world” with a total purse of more than two million dollars.
Papa was an accomplished storyteller and believed in the art of telling a good story and loved sharing his latest joke. We all remember the stories from his childhood of his grandfather, Papa Emile, and his great grandmother, Grandma Kiya (Cordelia Stutes Guidry), as well as his encyclopedic knowledge of the horse racing legends, jockies and owners, sires and dams.
He was also a generous man. A child of the depression, he worked hard to make certain none of his children wanted for anything. He provided for and financed the education of his eight children. When the father of a neighboring family died unexpectedly, Papa sent the neighbor’s children to private school. He helped a friend in need more often to the credit of his generous heart than to the guarantee of repayment.
Papa was a larger than life figure and had countless friends, including farmers and politicians, celebrities and gangsters. Among them was Louisiana’s infamous former governor, Edwin W. Edwards, Senator John Breaux, former New Orleans Saints owner, John Mecom, and billionaire E. C. Mullendore.
After a lifetime on South Sterling Street in Lafayette, Wade built a new home for Codrey and three years ago moved to the family farm outside Kaplan, Louisiana. The mares running in the pasture, the serenity of the landscape, and the newborn colts kicking and bucking will always remind us of Papa and his great big, generous spirit.
The family requests that visitation be observed in Martin & Castille''s DOWNTOWN location on Monday from 3:30 PM - 10:00 PM and on Tuesday from 8:00 AM until time of service.
A Rosary will be said on Monday at 7:00 PM by the Catholic Daughters of America in Martin & Castille Funeral Home.
Martin & Castille-DOWNTOWN-330 St. Landry St., Lafayette, LA 70506, 337-234-2311
Reverend Kendal Faulk, Pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Rayne, Louisiana will be the Celebrant of the Funeral Mass and will conduct the funeral services. Lectors will be Samantha Navarre and Philip Navarre. Giftbearers will be Madison Thibodeaux and Brody Navarre. Phyllis Simar, organist and Charlotte Jagneaux, soloist will sing "Amazing Grace," "Be Not Afraid," How Great Thou Art," and "On Eagles Wings" for the services.
Survivors include his beloved wife of 56 years, Codrey Meaux Navarre; two daughters, Lucy Webre, and Tammy Navarre and her companion Alan Prejean; six sons, Keith Navarre, Emile Navarre and his wife Polly, Tony Navarre, Wade Navarre II and his wife Joan, Tommy Navarre and his partner Jim Mauseth, and Brady Navarre and his companion Melissa Durio; 21 grandchildren; 16 Great Grandchildren; and 2 Great Great Grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Maxie Navarre, and one son-in-law, Bill Webre.
C. Wade Navarre died peacefully in his favorite chair, at his home in Kaplan, Louisiana, one day shy of his 82nd birthday.
He was born in Bosco, Louisiana, the second son to Romain Navarre and Odile Guillot. At about age 2, the family moved to Rayne, Louisiana, where he was raised, in the house where his mother continued to live until her death at age 96.
Wade attended Rayne public schools and for a time attended the seminary in Rayne. All of his children and grandchildren are relieved that his calling to religious life didn’t take. A highlight of his youth was his position as “water boy” for the Rayne High School football team, Louisiana State Champions 1943. After graduation, he attended McNeese State University and Southwestern Louisiana Institute where he played football and briefly studied dentistry. It was another happy coincidence that this career choice didn’t stick. He served in the U.S. Air Force at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Wade was a family man and loving father. One of only two children, he always wanted a big family and he got his wish. He married Sadie Guidry and together they had three sons. He later married Codrey Meaux and together they raised three more sons and two daughters. Wade was “Papa” to six boys and two girls.
He was proud of his Cajun French heritage. His great-great-great-grandfather, Victor Navarre, was one of three sons of a prosperous sugarcane and tobacco plantation owner, who immigrated to New Orleans in 1809 after escaping the slave revolt in Haiti. Victor married the daughter of a wealthy New Orleans businessman and eventually moved west to settle on the banks of the Vermillion River, north of present day Lafayette.
C. Wade was an independent businessman and entrepreneur. In the 1950s, he had an Oldsmobile/Cadillac automobile dealership in Lafayette. For a time he also showed Appaloosa horses, taking many winning ribbons. He worked as an independent “land man” leasing oil & gas right of ways from the 1950s until the time of his death. He enjoyed putting together deals and most recently drilled two successful gas wells in Vermillion Parish. However, the majority of his career was devoted to the horse racing industry. He loved horses and enjoyed breeding, raising, training, owning and racing quarter horses in a career that spanned more than fifty years. Who can forget those long summer days at the farm or those endless nights waiting for the horses to come back from the track at Evangeline or Delta Downs. He reached the pinnacle of his success when, in 1985, his Louisiana-bred quarter horse, MrTruckaJet, won the prestigious “All American Futurity” in Ruidoso, New Mexico. At the time, this was considered the “richest horse race in the world” with a total purse of more than two million dollars.
Papa was an accomplished storyteller and believed in the art of telling a good story and loved sharing his latest joke. We all remember the stories from his childhood of his grandfather, Papa Emile, and his great grandmother, Grandma Kiya (Cordelia Stutes Guidry), as well as his encyclopedic knowledge of the horse racing legends, jockies and owners, sires and dams.
He was also a generous man. A child of the depression, he worked hard to make certain none of his children wanted for anything. He provided for and financed the education of his eight children. When the father of a neighboring family died unexpectedly, Papa sent the neighbor’s children to private school. He helped a friend in need more often to the credit of his generous heart than to the guarantee of repayment.
Papa was a larger than life figure and had countless friends, including farmers and politicians, celebrities and gangsters. Among them was Louisiana’s infamous former governor, Edwin W. Edwards, Senator John Breaux, former New Orleans Saints owner, John Mecom, and billionaire E. C. Mullendore.
After a lifetime on South Sterling Street in Lafayette, Wade built a new home for Codrey and three years ago moved to the family farm outside Kaplan, Louisiana. The mares running in the pasture, the serenity of the landscape, and the newborn colts kicking and bucking will always remind us of Papa and his great big, generous spirit.
The family requests that visitation be observed in Martin & Castille''s DOWNTOWN location on Monday from 3:30 PM - 10:00 PM and on Tuesday from 8:00 AM until time of service.
A Rosary will be said on Monday at 7:00 PM by the Catholic Daughters of America in Martin & Castille Funeral Home.
Martin & Castille-DOWNTOWN-330 St. Landry St., Lafayette, LA 70506, 337-234-2311
