Jesse L. Boucher

Jesse L. Boucher
Mayor of Springhill, Webster Parish, Louisiana
In office 1958–1962
Preceded by	Charles McConnell
Succeeded by	James Allen
Personal details
Born	(1912-01-09)January 9, 1912 Bodcau community near Springhill, Louisiana
Died	December 25, 2004(2004-12-25) (aged 92) Springhill, Louisiana
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Mary Eloise Herrington Boucher (married 1940–2004, his death)
Children	Savannah Smith Boucher Sherry Boucher-Lytle Jessica Boucher
Parents	Henry Havis and Mary Ella Coyle Boucher
Alma mater	Springhill High School Northwestern State University
Occupation	Real estate developer; Insurance agent
Religion	United Methodist Church
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army Air Forces captain (pre-World War II) United States Navy stateside service during World War II in Pensacola, Florida

Jesse L. Boucher (January 9, 1912 – December 25, 2004)^[1] was a north Louisiana insurance agency owner and large-scale real estate developer who also served from 1958 to 1962 as the mayor of his native Springhill in northern Webster Parish.

Early years, education, military

Boucher (pronounced BUTCHER) was born to Henry H. Boucher and the former Mary "Dixie" Coyle in the Bodcau community near Springhill, which had been founded some twenty years earlier by his father and grandfather. He attended Shiloh School and graduated in 1931 from Springhill High School, as did all members of his immediate family.^[2] On September 1, 1940, he married the former Mary Eloise Herrington (born November 21, 1923), one of four children of Eron Franklin Herrington and the former Susie Mae Fillingame (1906–1976), formerly of Bastrop in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana.^[3] The Bouchers had three daughters, two of whom became actresses in Hollywood, California. Sherry Boucher appeared mostly on television between 1967 and 1979 and was the third wife of George Peppard.^[1] Savannah Smith Boucher is an actress and producer living in Los Angeles, California.^[2][4]

As an outstanding football player at the end position for the Springhill Lumberjacks, young Boucher won an athletic scholarship to Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, then known as "Louisiana Normal". There he played football and ran track, including participation in a conference-winning mile relay race. He was president of both his senior class and the NSU student body.^[1]

After he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1935, he taught and coached in Webster Parish for three years: first in the Evergreen Community south of Shongaloo, then at Doyline High School in the village of Doyline, and, finally, at Minden High School in Minden, the parish seat of government. He was also briefly employed in 1938 by Warner Brothers Pictures before he joined his friend Wilburn Slack in the organization of the Boucher and Slack Insurance Agency in Springhill. Prior to World War II, he served for a few months as a captain in the United States Army Air Corps at Clovis, New Mexico. He resigned as captain and returned to the insurance agency. After the war began, however, he served from 1940 to 1944 as an officer in the United States Navy in Pensacola, Florida.^[2][1]

Business, political, and civic activities

Boucher returned to Springhill to resume his insurance business but soon branched into developing subdivisions and constructing apartments, shopping centers, industrial buildings, schools, and hotels, in both Louisiana and neighboring Arkansas. In 1946, he opened an electric supply company in Springhill. His development projects were in Springhill, Bossier City, Vivian, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and Natchitoches as well as Little Rock, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas.^[2][1]

He was elected mayor in 1958 to succeed the late Charles Emmett McConnell, a lawyer who subsequently made losing races in 1967 and 1971 for the Louisiana House of Representatives. Boucher did not seek reelection as mayor in 1962 and was succeeded by James Allen. Boucher's brother-in-law, Johnny D. Herrington, Eloise’s brother, served twice as mayor, 1978–1986 and again from 1995 to 2006.^[5]

Active in civic matters, Boucher was the chairman of the Springhill American Legion post and as president of the Springhill Lions Club, and the Springhill High School Alumni Association, which he formed with his friend Woodrow Turner. He also organized and developed the Lumberjack Festival in Springhill, named for the high school athletic teams.^[1] In 1957, he was named head of the Webster Parish United Way charity drive.^[6]

Boucher was honored repeatedly by his peers in the real estate business by having been selected for the "Who’s Who" and the "National Register" of Real Estate Developers and "Builder of the Year" in 1995–1996. He was also inducted into the "Long Purple Line" at Northwestern State University.^[1]

In addition to Sherry and Savannah, Boucher had a third and youngest daughter, Jessica Boucher (born 1955), who resides in Nashville, Tennessee,^[1] with her fiancee, Kevin Beamish. She was a recording artist for Warner Bros., Curb Records and Polygram from 1980 to 1992 and exclusive songwriter for Sony/Tree Publishing. Her son, Nathan Kyle Rogers (born September 28, 1976), also resides in Nashville. Jessica Boucher studied at Kaplan University, having received her A.A.S. in Computer Science and an MBA, with credential also in E*Commerce. She is the director of web development at the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

Boucher's siblings were Eli Augustus Boucher, Henry Creel Boucher (1913–1992), David G. Boucher, Katie B. Nelson, and Estelle Sally Boucher Slack. He had three grandchildren.^[2]

Jesse Boucher military gravestone at Springhill Cemetery

Boucher died on Christmas Day 2004 after a three-year struggle with cancer. Services were held on December 28, 2004, at the First United Methodist Church in Springhill. Honorary pallbearers include well-known figures: Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, Louisiana State Senator Robert R. Adley, former State Senator John W. "Jack" Montgomery, State Representative, Jean Doerge, Bossier City Mayor George Dement, former Heisman Trophy winner from Sprighill John David Crow, and former U.S. Representative Joe Waggonner.^[1] Boucher was a first cousin of Drayton Boucher, who held the Bossier/Webster Parish state senate seat from 1940 to 1952.^[7]

References