Francis Dugas

Francis F. Dugas, Sr. (June 9, 1919 - September 2, 2008),^[1] was initially a Democratic politician and attorney from Thibodaux, Louisiana. However, he changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican during the Ronald Reagan presidency.

Background

Born in Rayne in Acadia Parish in South Louisiana,^[2] Dugas was one of eight children of Ulysse and Louise Dugas. He was reared in Thibodaux in Lafourche Parish. Dugas wrote of his parents: "[We] were born and reared on a farm. Although [our] mother and father lacked formal education, they were endowed with an abundance of courage and foresight which provided the strength and determination necessary to guide all of their children through the hallowed halls of knowledge."^[3]

A Roman Catholic, Dugas received his Bachelor of Arts from Southern Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College in Pineville and his L.L.B. from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. From 1943 to 1946, he served in the United States Navy. He was affiliated with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Kiwanis International.^[4]

Political life

From 1956 to 1960, during the administration of Governor Earl Kemp Long, Dugas served for a single term in the Louisiana House of Representatives from Lafourche Parish.^[5] In 1963, Dugas ran for lieutenant governor on the intraparty ticket of a Long opponent, former Governor Robert F. Kennon, formerly of Minden in Webster Parish in North Louisiana.^[6] Both Kennon and Dugas lost their respective races. The governorship went to John McKeithen of Columbia in Caldwell Parish in north Louisiana; the lieutenant governorship to incumbent Taddy Aycock, also a former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Franklin in St. Mary Parish in south Louisiana.^[7]

Dugas family

Dugas and his wife, the former Doris Valentine Bergeron (1922-2001), had two daughters, Bridgett Dugas Harris (born 1942) of Thibodaux and Bernadette Frances Dugas (born 1948) of Thibodaux in Lafourche Parish, and a son, Francis "Rocky" Dugas, Jr. (born April 1953) of Thibodaux. The Dugas' third daughter, Celeste, died at birth in 1964. Dugas died in 2008 at the age of eighty-nine in Thibodaux and is interred at St. Joseph Cemetery at 949 Menard St. in Thibodaux.^[2]

Dugas was predeceased by a grandson, Jacob Meade Dugas (1977-2002), a great-granddaughter, Jada Frances Dugas (2002-2004),^[1] and all four of his brothers, including Colonel Meade J. Dugas (1909-1965),^[2] a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and a decorated soldier of World War II and the Korean War. Dugas referred to his oldest brother as "a constant inspiration, a 'big brother' who was splendid in every way—a gentleman, a scholar, and a soldier who never compromised his honor or his dedication to duty."^[3]

References