Arthur Taylor Kaough

We are saddened to announce the death of our beloved blue-eyed patriarch “Poppee.” On Thursday, July 29, 2021, Arthur Taylor Kaough passed away unexpectedly at home after a brief illness.

Taylor was born August 21, 1943, at St. Patrick’s Hospital in Lake Charles, LA, to Arthur Daniel “Tootie” and Marian Graham Kaough. He graduated from Lake Charles High School, class of 1961. Go Wildcats! He studied Architecture at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then USL).  He started Kaough and Associates in 1970 and practiced architecture until his death. Taylor married his college sweetheart Charlene Lea-Ke' of Eunice, Louisiana and they recently celebrated their 54^th wedding anniversary on June 12, 2021.

Taylor loved Lake Charles and was very proud to be a Kaough. He was always ready to host a family gathering and share stories with his many cousins and friends. He really enjoyed going to local art exhibits, plays, Banners events, and live music shows. A devoted attendee of Festival International de Louisiane, and an avid fan of KRVS, he was as passionate about music and dancing as he was his family and friends.

He spent his whole life on the lake; his early years downtown on Clarence Street at the family shipyard, and his later years at KO Point, Big Lake. He loved to fish and sail and tried every year to guess which day the sunset would fall between the towers of the Ellender Bridge as sighted from his backyard.

He leaves behind a legacy of restoration projects, from revitalized buildings in downtown Lake Charles to cool, old cars including a 1963 Jaguar coup, upcycled lawnmowers, boats, tools and an abundance of fabulous architectural items collected during his life.  He was passionate about art, architecture, hands-on construction, restoration, woodworking, fishing, sailing, music, dancing (Charlene wouldn’t let him lead), fixing and re-fixing things, reading, hunting, and telling jokes and stories accompanied by expressive hand gestures and his distinctive laugh.  He was a barbequer of slightly charred ribs with a secret sauce handed down from his Aunt Caroline.  Among the many who admired him, several felt obliged to name their family pets after him.

He was open-minded, kind, loving and generous. He cared about social justice. He loved caring for his family and his friends and was always willing to help strangers in need.  He had a unique philosophical way of seeing the world and a spiritual reverence for Mother Nature. He readily shared his extensive knowledge of construction, relished a building challenge and incorporated connections to Nature within his designs.  He loved sampling new foods and was proud of his grandchildren's culinary skills. The one thing he loved more than traveling to Mexico and abroad was recounting his travel stories to others, with the occasional embellishment, his trademark laugh and a joyful gleam in his eye.

Taylor is preceded in death by his parents Arthur Daniel Kaough, Marian Graham Kaough Carpenter and his stepfather Neill G. Carpenter.

He is survived by his wife, Charlene; daughters Emily Kaough and Lania Vanchiere of Lake Charles; son Corin Kaough (Laura) of St Croix; grandchildren: Blake Soto (Leigh), Kaough, Sophia, and Gus Baggett, Jack, Charles, Drew and Ben Vanchiere, Atlas and Rio Kaough; brother Gilbert (Laura nee Eagle) of San Antonio, and lunch buddy of forty years, Gus Stacy III.

Taylor's remains have been entrusted to Johnson's Funeral Home for cremation and a celebration of his life will be held in the near future. Details will be announced later.

 Though sad to leave us all behind, he’s no doubt being welcomed by a host of his old friends who left us all too soon. The first time Taylor ever left a party early was this time.