Paul Dugal

Paul James Dugal, aged 97, passed away peacefully on May 14, 2025, at his home in Opelousas, Louisiana, with family at his side.

Visitation will be held at LaFond-Ardoin Funeral Home on Hwy 182 in Opelousas on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 10 a.m. A rosary will be led by Iggie Castille at 11:30 a.m. in the same location.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church on West Landry in Opelousas. Father Jude Thierry and Father Gregory Simien will co-officiate the services. The Rite of Committal and Interment will follow at Bellevue Memorial Park.

As the oldest child and only son of Irene and Clifford Dugal, Paul grew up with a strong sense of responsibility. He and his sister, Pat, were raised on the family farm in the countryside near Opelousas, where Paul’s daily chores included tending livestock and maintaining the Bessemer engine that powered the pump for the rice fields. Even as a boy, Paul was known for his neatness and precision; his animals always dined on time, his clothing was well kept, and his handwriting was impeccable.

Though his immediate family was small for the time, Paul was never without company. Surrounded by a large extended family and many cousins, he developed a deep commitment to integrity, hard work, and family. These values defined his life.

In the late 1930s, Paul served as a page for the Louisiana House of Representatives. While he enjoyed running messages between offices, he was particularly fascinated by the construction of the Old Bridge in Baton Rouge. He recalled crossing the Mississippi River by ferry and watching the bridge’s massive foundations take shape. These observations sparked his lifelong interest in engineering, which could be noted in both his career and his affinity for construction secured by bolts.

Paul graduated from high school at age 16, when Louisiana schools still ended after 11th grade. He entered an accelerated baccalaureate program at Southwestern Louisiana Institute (SLI), where he earned his degree in electrical engineering. Outside the classroom, he spent much of his time courting Mary Ann, a young woman who had caught his eye. According to family lore, he would toss pebbles at the classroom window to get her attention — though no one ever asked why he wasn’t in class himself. After graduation, he accepted a position with Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but missing the South, and Mary Ann, he returned home after a year. They were married on December 24, 1949.

Wanting to raise their family in one place, Paul and Mary Ann established St. Landry Tractor Company, a farm implement business, which sold New Holland, Massey Ferguson, and International Harvester equipment to farmers across the region. Paul ran the business with his trademark discipline and attention to detail until retiring in the early 1980s. His retirement was brief, however, as he soon began working on plan reviews with a local engineering firm.

Throughout his life, Paul maintained a spirit of adventure. He loved poring over maps and flipping through atlases. He traveled widely, including trips to Hawaii, Mexico City, Caracas, and the Bahamas, and took his family on road trips across the United States and Canada. In the mid-1960s, he developed an interest in flying, took lessons in Lafayette, and eventually purchased a Cessna 172, which he kept in a hangar in Opelousas. He often flew himself and Mary Ann (both impeccably dressed) to Baton Rouge.

In the 1980s, he traded his plane for a motorhome and continued exploring; he especially loved the National Parks in the West. Whether hiking, snow skiing, or dancing at the Wurstfest, his returns were often marked by slide shows, captured through the lens of his SLR camera. Of course the older boxes of family slides would come out for review, too.

Paul read the newspaper daily, loved Laurence Welk, maintained a collection of his favorite books, and enjoyed a regular evening happy hour (his favorite was an Old Fashioned). A lifelong tinkerer, his tools were always polished to a shine and kept in perfect order. Oil leaks were dealt with immediately and were never allowed to blemish his freshly pressure-washed driveway. He kept electricity costs down by covering the windows with clear plastic insulation each winter, and patiently reapplied the plastic after his grandkids couldn’t resist poking holes in it with their fingers.

He was a devoted and lifelong member of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, where he served as an usher. Well into his 90s, Paul loved working in his yard, aiming for it to “look like a Texas State Park.” No matter the temperature, he was always in long pants, long sleeves, and a wide brimmed hat. He led grace at family meals, opened stubborn jars, and shared his quiet strength through everyday interactions. Breakfast was always oatmeal, dessert had to be something sweet, and he regularly pushed fruit – grapefruit being his favorite. Long walks after supper were a family ritual.

Paul was preceded in death by his parents Irene Bertinot Dugal and Clifford Paul Dugal, his bride of 73 years, Mary Ann Patout Dugal, his two sons James Patrick Dugal and Mark Owen Dugal, his sister Patricia Dugal LeBlanc and his brother-in law Marcel LeBlanc.

He is survived by his daughter Claudia Ann Dugal of Round Rock, TX and his daughter Catherine Lynn Dugal Cahanin and husband Lee Cahanin of Opelousas, LA. His grandchildren are Charlton Harrison and wife Liz of Monterrey, Mexico, Dimitri Dugal Hammond and wife Anny of Austin, TX, Aimee Cahanin and husband Phirun Meach of Herndon, VA, and Eric Cahanin and wife Mary Trigg of Cincinnati, OH. He has seven great grandchildren, one great great grandchild, and an adored cat, NocNoc2.

The family, and Paul if he were still here, would like to give special thanks to Kerry L. and Manolia C., who were hired for their expert caregiving but ended up serving as navigational beacons, friends, and confidants. Their ability to facilitate communication and to bring a sparkle to Paul’s eyes is unmatched.