Roy Theriot
| Roy Raoul Theriot, Sr. | |
Louisiana State Comptroller
| |
| In office May 1960 – April 19, 1973, his death | |
| Preceded by | William Joseph "Bill" Dodd |
|---|---|
Mayor of Abbeville, Vermilion Parish
| |
| In office 1954 – 1960 | |
Sergeant-at-arms of the Louisiana House of Representatives
| |
| In office 1952 – 1956 | |
| Preceded by | Cliff Liles |
| Succeeded by | Gaston Ducote |
| Born | June 26, 1914 Erath, Vermilion Parish |
| Died | April 19, 1973 (aged 58) |
| Resting place | St. Mary Magdalen Mausoleum in Abbeville |
| Nationality | Cajun-American |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Roberts Theriot (married 1947-1973, his death) |
| Children | Barbara Ellen Horaist
Roy Theriot, Jr. |
| Alma mater | University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Tulane University School of Law |
| Occupation | Attorney; Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Roy Raoul Theriot, Sr. (June 26, 1914 – April 19, 1973) was the Louisiana Democratic state comptroller from 1960-1973. From 1954 to 1960, he was the [[mayor of Abbeville in Vermilion Parish in southwestern Louisiana.[1]
Background
Theriot (pronounced TERRY OH) was born in Erath in Vermilion Parish, twenty-six miles south of the larger Lafayette, to Joseph "Lastie" Theriot (1879-1966) Theriot and the former Emerite Barras (pronounced BAH RA) (1886-1981). He was educated in Erath public schools, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (at the time Southwestern Louisiana Institute) and the Tulane University Law School in New Orleans. On June 7, 1939, he began his law practice and soon took a role in civic affairs and organized the Abbeville Dairy Festival, first held in September 1949. In 1979,[2] the festival was renamed the Louisiana Cattle Festival.[3]
In 1954, Theriot was elected mayor of Abbeville in 1954. Two year later, he invited Harold Stassen, a Moderate Republican and the former "boy-wonder" governor of Minnesota, to speak at the festival. Stassen, remembered as a perennial Republican candidate for U.S. President, was so impressed with the festival that he invited the Abbeville High School band to perform at the second inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 20, 1957. Theriot later convinced former President Harry Truman to speak at the event too.[4] At civic meetings, Theriot often chided Louisiana residents for "lacking pride" in their state, a shortcoming which he attributed to the citizens' "lack of knowledge of what the state has to offer."[4] His challenge to Louisiana residents "lacking pride" preceded President Jimmy Carter's similar "malaise speech" in 1979.
Theriot organized the Acadian Boucherie Breakfast, which began in January 1960, as a means to preserve Cajun culture.[2] On June 7, 1947, he married the former Helen Roberts (1924–1990). The couple had three children, Barbara Ellen Theriot (born 1949), Roy R. Theriot, Jr. (born 1952), and Samuel Houston "Sam" Theriot (born 1954)[2], a state representative from 1979 to 1996 and the Vermilion Parish Clerk of Court for a single term from 1996 to 2000.[3]
Political career
From 1952 to 1956, Theriot was the sergeant-at-arms for the Louisiana House of Representatives. On January 11, 1960, Mayor Theriot won the pivotal Democratic nomination for Louisiana comptroller over Mrs. Marion C. Henderson (1920–2010) of Colfax in Grant Parish, the choice of gubernatorial candidate deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr.[5] In the primary held in December 1959, several other candidates were eliminated from the runoff, including the future U.S. Representative Joe Waggonner of Plain Dealing in Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana[6] and Toby O'Rillion, a son-in-law of the former state Senator Gilbert Franklin Hennigan of Beauregard Parish in southwestern Louisiana. On April 19, 1960, Theriot defeated the first and only Republican candidate ever to seek the administrative position of comptroller, Robert Lee "Bob" Clark, Jr. (1920-2003), an accountant from Many in Sabine Parish, who had been a presidential elector for Eisenhower in 1952. Theriot polled 86.7 percent of the vote against Clark.[7][8]
In December 1963, Theriot faced a primary fight for a second term as comptroller with fellow Democrats George Dupuis, Andrew J. Falcon (1923–1991), and Arthur LeBlanc.[9] He prevailed in a January 1964 runoff with Falcon. In later elections in 1967 and 1972, Theriot faced minimal or no opposition. He became comptroller in the second administration of Governor Jimmie Davis
Legacy
The Theriots were devout Roman Catholics; their remains are entombed in St. Mary Magdalen Mausoleum in Abbeville.[2] They are honored through the Roy and Helen Theriot Memorial Endowed Scholarship in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The scholarship was later expanded to provide assistance to youth attending Boys' and Girls' State mock legislative sessions.[3]
Theriot's papers are located in the ULL Library in Lafayette.[10]
References
- ↑ Roy Raoul Theriot, Sr.. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on June 2, 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Theriot Roy. A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography: Louisiana Historical Association. Retrieved on June 2, 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Scholarship set up in honor of Roy Theriot, Sr., will Help Abbeville High School Students Attend Boy, Girls State. Vermilion Today (May 13, 2019). Retrieved on June 1, 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Theriot Charges Louisiana Residents With Lack of Pride in Their State," Minden Press-Herald, July 21, 1967, p. 1.
- ↑ Minden Press, January 11, 1960, p. 1.
- ↑ Minden Press, November 23, 1959, p. 13.
- ↑ Robert Lee "Bob" Clark, Jr.. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on June 2, 2020.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, April 19, 1960.
- ↑ Minden Press, December 9, 1963, p. 1.
- ↑ Roy Raoul Theriot Collection. Library.louisiana.edu. Retrieved on June 2, 2020.
