Ernest "John" Fuselier

Memorial services will be held on Thursday, December 9, 2021 at 1:00 pm in the Sunrise Chapel at Walters Funeral Home for World War II veteran Ernest Ignatius "John" Fuselier, who passed away on December 6, 2021 after a brief illness. He was 95 years old. Reverend Brian Taylor, pastor of St. Genevieve Catholic Church, will conduct the services. Lectors will be Mindi Nash and Anna Duhon; gift bearers, Adam Fuselier and Alyce Duhon. Urn bearer will be Aidan Serio. Jodi Bollich organist and soloist, will perform, "Be Not Afraid," "Shepherd Me, Oh God," "Ave Maria," "Notre Pere," and "On Eagle's Wings." Inurnment will follow the services in Calvary Cemetery.

Visitation will be held Thursday morning prior to the service beginning at 11:00 am. A rosary will be prayed at noon in the Sunrise Chapel.

John was born in St. Martinville on February 25, 1926 to Ernest Frank Fuselier and Madeleine Barras Fuselier. John was one of ten children raised on Bushville Plantation in Arnaudville, LA where his father was a sharecropper. He graduated from Cecilia High School, enlisted in the Navy on his 18th birthday, and served during WWII between 1944-1946. John moved to Lafayette to attend SLI (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) on the GI Bill and graduated with his Bachelor's Degree in Education. He taught Industrial Arts at Northside High School in Lafayette for several years and during the summer worked for Horace Rickey Construction Company. He was a gifted carpenter who could build anything with wood, from houses to furniture. He ended his teaching career in 1968 to serve as Supervisor of Maintenance for the Lafayette Parish School System until his retirement in 1987.

John loved sports and was a loyal fan of the Teurlings Catholic Rebels and UL Ragin Cajuns. His great love was track and field. He was a long-distance runner who ran competitively for many years. He competed in races in the Acadiana area such as the Cajun Cup and ran in the New Orleans races with his brothers Larry and JC. He participated in the Senior Olympics and ran in several marathons including the Boston Marathon. He was a member of the Cajun Road Runners Club and “The Congregation”, a group of runners who met on Sunday mornings.

John is survived by his wife of 73 years, Leora Domingue Fuselier, his daughter Nancy and her husband David Duhon, and son Kenneth and his wife Beverly; grandchildren Mindi Nash, Anna Duhon, Adam Fuselier and Alyce Duhon; and great-grandchildren Aidan Serio and Graham and Kate Fuselier. His surviving siblings are Alice Key, JC Fuselier and Larry Fuselier. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Madeleine, brothers David, Jerry and Dan and sisters Sophie, Marie “Murray”, and Genevieve.

The family would like to thank the staff of St Joseph Hospice and the Carpenter House for their compassionate care during John’s last days. In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory may be made to Teurlings Catholic High School.

To send curated gifts to the Fuselier family visit our sympathy store, The Gift Shop at Walters