The Life of Marie Camille Johnson Foret
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at a 1:00 PM Service in La Chapelle de Martin & Castille for Marie Camille Durand Johnson-Foret "Mamille", who passed away peacefully at Lafayette General Medical Center at 10:15 AM on October 10, 2013. Visitation will be at Martin & Castille''s DOWNTOWN location on Monday, October 14, 2013 from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM and on Tuesday from 10:00 AM until time of service. Interment will be at Lafayette Memorial Park. Pastor Todd Menard of Family Life Church will conduct the services.
Camille or "Mamille" as she was affectionately called by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, was a truly kind and thoughtful person, and an elegant lady to all who knew her, and she will be dearly missed. Camille loved life and enjoyed it to the fullest, including gardening, traveling and going on numerous hunting, fishing, and leisure trips to the camps whether at the farm "La Belle Colline" near Grand Coteau, in the swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin, in the marshes at Dulac, in the piney woods near Glenmora or at the Clear Lake property near Coushatta, Louisiana.
Preceding Camille in death are her parents, Clifford Simon Durand, Sr. and Camille Bienvenu Durand; her older sister, Merle Durand O''Brien with her husband Jim, and her twin sister, Phyllis Durand Debaillon with her husband Charlie; her husband of 41 years, James Mercer "Buddy" Johnson, and her second husband, Dr. James A. Foret, Sr.
Camille is survived by her two sons, James Hall Johnson and John Mercer Johnson and his wife, Wyeanette Fall Johnson all of Lafayette; her brother, Clifford Simon Durand, Jr. and his wife Suzanne Barras Durand of St. Martinville.
Additional survivors include her eight grandchildren, Melody Johnson, John Paul Johnson (wife Courtney Beadle), David Johnson (wife Casee Blakeley) of Missouri City, TX, Joel Johnson, Aaron Johnson, Timothy Johnson, Ruth Johnson Huval (husband Dayne), and Mark Johnson; two step-grandchildren, Tony Fontenot (wife Christina Luna) and Debbie Fontenot; twelve great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. Camille is also survived by the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of her second husband, Jim Foret.
Pallbearers are Camille''s six grandsons, and her step-grandson, Tony.
Camille was a graduate of Convent of Mercy High School in St. Martinville, operated by the Sisters of Mercy, and she later attended S.L.I., Southwest Louisiana Institute (now UL Lafayette). As a student at S.L.I., she was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority and worked as a secretary in the administrative offices there.
Throughout her life, until her final years of declining health, Camille remained active in numerous social and civic activities. These include her volunteer service as a "Pink Lady" at Lafayette General Hospital, as a charter member of the L''Avenir Club, and the Galvez Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Y Chapter of the PEO Sisterhood, the Junior League of Lafayette, Friends of Vermilionville, St. Joseph''s Altar Society, and the Krewe of Attakapas (also as charter member). With her husband, "Buddy" Johnson, she was a member of Oakbourne Country Club, the Lafayette Town House Order of the Troubadours, and the Krewe of Gabriel. With her second husband, Jim Foret, she was a member of the City Club of Lafayette. After Jim''s passing, Camille became a member of the "Eighties Ladies" until her disability and of the Petroleum Club of Lafayette until the time of her passing. During her marriage to Jim Foret, she was recognized for an award-winning Iris known as the "Camille Foret Iris".
The family wishes to especially thank Joyce Benoit, Camille''s caregiver who attended to her personal needs since December 2007 until the time of her passing, as well as all of Camille''s personal caregivers too numerous to mention by name here. Special thanks also to Dr. Mitchell Dugas and the nursing staff at LGMC for all the care they provided her during her final days.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions on behalf of Camille may be made to St. Jude''s Children''s Hospital in Memphis, TN or to Oasis Family Worship Center in Lafayette, LA.
Martin & Castille-DOWNTOWN-330 St. Landry St., Lafayette, LA 70506, 337-234-2311
