“Anna Jane,” as she was known to her family and friends growing up, was born on October 17, 1939 in Sunset, Louisiana to Julia and Dr. Armand Brinkhaus. She left us for a better place on September 4, 2026. She was a talented piano player and was fluent in French and Spanish. She learned languages and piano “by ear.” She loved her family.

A Visitation will be held on Monday, September 7, 2026, at Lafond-Ardoin Funeral Home from 4:00pm until 8:00pm. A Rosary will be recited at 6:00pm by Don Chachere. Visitation will resume on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, from 7:30am until 9:30 am.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church at 10:00am. The Very Reverend Monsignor DeRouen will officiate the service. Rite of Committal will follow at Wilmer Memorial Cemetery (613 Chickamaw Road Lecompte, LA 71346) at 12:00pm. with Father Chad Partain.

She loved to play the piano. She loved her grandchildren and came to every piano recital, dance recital and many other events of her grandchildren. In her later years, she enjoyed visits from them in her home.

She attended Sunset Elementary, St Ignatius Middle School, and the Academy of the Sacred Heart High School. She was class president and president of the Ribbon Council in high school. She was Sacred Heart Girl, the highest award given to any graduating senior. She later received the Très Bien Award for an alumna who represents the values of The Academy of the Sacred Heart. She attended Spring Hill University; University of Lausanne, Switzerland, studying French, which was a lifelong love, and completed her French studies at SLI, now known as University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Upon graduation, she taught sixth grade for a year in New Orleans before moving back home, where she taught French at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau for eight years. She married Richard “Dick” Gaiennie and had three children.

She was active in the community and in her children’s schools. She was a member of the Woman’s Club of Opelousas, where she served in many different capacities including president. Jane was a devoted wife and mother, and loved speaking French, dancing, gardening, and traveling. She was an avid member of Toastmasters International. She also enjoyed playing tennis.

She took care of her husband “Dick” when he was sick until he passed away in 1993. She worked at Gaiennie Lumber Company. She was married a few years later to Roderick Miller, who she met at Dwyer’s French Table, and they enjoyed dancing and speaking French together at French Tables in Lafayette. She took care of him until he passed, as well.

Jane was preceded in death by her first husband, Richard Miller Gaiennie, Sr. and her second husband, Roderick Miller; her brother, William Brinkhaus, and his wife, Diane; her sister, Julie Brinkhaus Olivier, and her husband, John; her brother, Allan Brinkhaus, and his wife Loretta; her brother, Armand Brinkhaus; her parents, Julia Eugenia Thoms Brinkhaus and Armand Louis Brinkhaus, MD.

Those left to cherish her memory include her daughter, Dianne Julie Gaiennie Davis, and her husband, Brett; her daughter, Suzanne Cora Gaiennie; and her son Richard Miller Gaiennie, Jr. and his wife Beth, and She is also survived in death by her former husband, Roderick Miller's children including five sons, Thomas J. Miller, Kenneth G. Miller, John Miller, Father Francis Miller OFM, Normand Miller and three daughters, Mrs. Jeanine Miller Billeaud, Mrs. Julie Miller McCarthy, and Mrs. Carmel Miller Soileau and many beloved grandchildren: Allen Miller Davis and his wife, Morgan of Leonardtown, Maryland; Matthew Carl Davis of Fort Worth, Texas; and John Michael Davis of Spanish Fort, Alabama; Isabella Jane Moreau Gandy and her husband, Patrick Gandy of Lafayette; Mary Virginia Guice Traynham and her husband, Thomas Traynham of Baton Rouge; Calvin Richard Gaiennie of Carencro; and Edward Cyril Gaiennie, and his wife, Cierra of Carencro, and her sister-in-law, Margaret Brinkhaus and numerous nieces and nephews. She is also survived by thirty-six step grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Jane's honor to the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau.

Family and friends are invited to sign and view the online guestbook at www.lafondardoin.com.

Lafond-Ardoin Funeral Home of Opelousas, 2845 South Union Street, Opelousas, LA 70570 (337-942- 2638) has been entrusted with funeral arrangements.