F. O. "Potch" Didier
| Fabius Odell "Potch" Didier, Jr. | |
| In office 1960 – July 1980 | |
| Preceded by | T. Jack Jeansonne |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Bill Belt |
| Born | November 27, 1919 Marksville, Avoyelles Parish |
| Died | September 10, 2007 (aged 87) Mansura, Avoyelles Parish |
| Resting place | Cremation |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Missing
(2) Julia D. Didier |
| Children | Marcel Furlow Didier Fabius Anthony Didier |
| Alma mater | Centenary College (Shreveport) |
| Occupation | Law-enforcement officer |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Notes':
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Fabius Odell Didier, Jr., known as Potch Didier (November 17, 1919 – September 10, 2007), was a flamboyant Democratic sheriff of Avoyelles Parish, in south central Louisiana, who served from 1960 to 1980. In 1970, Didier (pronounced DID E A) was tried, convicted and served a seven-day sentence in his own jail for malfeasance in office.[1]
The newspaper publisher James Roy "Jim" Levy (born 1934), formerly of The Bunkie Record in Bunkie in Avoyelles Parish, proclaimed Didier "the best sheriff Avoyelles Parish ever had." According to Levy, Didier and District Attorney Charles Riddle, Jr., were at odds. Charges were filed, and the case went to trial. John Boatner prosecuted for the DA's office, and Joe Tritiko (1911-1994), a prominent attorney from Lake Charles, the seat of government of Calcasieu Parish, was the defense counsel for Didier.[1] Levy explains:
It was the biggest trial in the parish, It was an amazing spectacle. When it was all over, Potch was sentenced to ninety days in the parish jail, meaning he would only have to serve forty-five days. He ended up serving just seven days with good behavior in his own in the parish seat of Marksville). I remember that first night he began his sentence, he cooked an andouille gumbo. He served his sentence, and eventually everything got back to normal, In fact, he was re-elected... again in 1972 and 1975.[1]
Avoyelles Parish has been known for political corruption. Its best-known local citizen, former Governor Edwin Edwards, served a ten-year sentence for extortion. Didier ranks second in recent notoriety though his malfeasance conviction was a crime of far less proportions. Didier's successor as sheriff, Bill Belt, also ran afoul of the law.[2] Another Avoyelles resident, Raymond Laborde, the Marksville mayor from 1958 to 1970 and state Representative from 1972 to 1992, finished his political tenure as Edwards' last commissioner of administrator (1992–1996). Laborde, however, was known for his "good-government" policies. In 1972, he once temporarily blocked a tax increase sought by Edwards, a friend from childhood. After his political career ended, Laborde continued to operate his Raymond’s Department Store, which he opened in Marksville in 1949[1]but has since closed.
On January 1, 1980, Didier, as the outgoing president of the politically influential Louisiana Sheriff's Association and a lame duck sheriff, had a telephone conversation with U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who was then being challenged for re-nomination by U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Contents of the conversation were not disclosed.[3] While Carter went on to gain a second Democratic nomination, he lost Louisiana (and the country) to the Republican Ronald W. Reagan.
Personal life
Didier was born in Marksville to Fabius Didier, Sr. (1895–1970), and the former Bessie Neck (1896–1977, pronounced NICK). He graduated from Centenary College of Louisiana, a Methodist institution in Shreveport. He was defeated in a school board race and then lost the nomination for sheriff in the 1955 primary to T. Jack Jeansonne. Four years later, Didier unseated Jeansonne. After five terms, Didier did not seek reelection in the nonpartisan blanket primary held in October 1979; he was succeeded by Bill Belt, who defeated Marksville Police Chief Mike Neck, a distant cousin of Didier's.[4]
Didier's second wife and mother of his second-born son was Julia D. Didier (1926-2007). Twenty-seven years after his retirement as sheriff and some six months after Julia's death, Didier died at the nursing home in Mansura two months before what would have been his 88th birthday. His surviving sons are Fabius Anthony Didier (born 1951) and wife, Deborah Dupuy Didier, of Marksville, and Marcel Furlow Didier (born 1947), formerly of Baton Rouge, and wife Lydia M. Didier; a brother, Homer Woodall Didier (1921-2009) and wife, the former Ruby Nell Bond, of Denham Springs in Livingston Parish., and two grandchildren, Damon Anthony Didier (born 1979), then of Plaucheville, Louisiana, and Shanti Marie Didier Odom (born 1981), then of Alexandria. Memorial services were held on September 20, 2007, at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Marksville. Didier was cremated.[5]
In the summer of 2009, Damon Didier duplicated a speech of his grandfather’s at the Marksville bicentennial ceremony.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Philip Timothy, "Ex-governor Edwin Edwards tops list of colorful parish politicians," Alexandria Town Talk, March 18, 2007; no longer on-line.
- ↑ "The "irate Kingfish savors his final free days before a jury lowers the boom," salon.com, May 12, 2000; no longer on-line.
- ↑ The Daily Diary of President Jimmy Carter. jimmycarterlibrary.org. Retrieved on December 20, 2009; no longer accessible on-line.
- ↑ Randy DeCuir, Avoyelles Journal, date missing, 1979.
- ↑ F.O. "Potch" Didier obituary, hixsonbrothers.com, accessed December 20, 2009.
- ↑ Past political figures come alive in stump speaking skit: Potch Didier, Earl Long, acted by Gil Browning, Huey Long, acted by Charles Riddle III, (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGP7wXaNzBE), L. O. Kelone, and Buford Smith portrayed by Brent Scallan. avoyellestoday.com (July 10, 2009). Retrieved on December 20, 2009; file no longer on-line.
