John O'Neil Hebert, Jr.

Together again: On June 20, John O. Hebert, Jr. was reunited with Bernadine Castille Hebert, his wife of 50 years who pre-deceased him in 1998. He will be greatly missed, but it makes us smile to picture their joyful reunion.

John was born in Baton Rouge and raised in Grand Prairie. After serving in Italy during WWII as a reconnaissance pilot in his “Grasshopper” plane, he returned to LSU to finish his degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was recalled to the Army to serve in the Korean War in the Artillery Division.

John retired in 1982 after working for 30 years at Cities Service. He has since enjoyed 37 years of retirement – we should all be so lucky! He remained an LSU fan to the end. One highlight for him was attending the 2016 Homecoming game and watching his Tigers beat Ole Miss. He also became an avid golfer during his retirement. His trophy celebrating his hole-in-one at Mallard Cove Golf Course at the age of 79 never left his desk.

John loved traveling. He and Bernadine took several road trips throughout the U.S. & Canada and cruised to see much of the rest of the world. His favorite pastime was tending his flowers, roses being his favorite. No trip to his home was complete without a tour of his gardens. His yard was twice featured in the Lake Charles Rose Tour of Homes.

He is survived by four children, Carolyn, O’Neil (Marilyn), Castille (Elaine), and Leandre (Dawn); his sister Jeanne Foreman; 10 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren with one on the way. He is also pre-deceased by his second wife, Betty Chauvin.

Visitation will be at Johnson Funeral Home on Friday, June 28, from 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM. Funeral services will be Saturday at 11:00 AM at Our Lady Queen of Angels in Opelousas. He will be buried next to Bernadine in Bellevue Memorial Park Cemetery.

The family requests that memorials be made to the Louisiana Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 10101 Siegen Lane Suite 2A, Baton Rouge, LA 70810.