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J. Rayburn Bertrand (view source)
Revision as of 15:04, December 10, 2019
, 15:04, December 10, 2019Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder |name=John Rayburn "Ray" Bertrand |office= Mayor of Lafayette, Louisiana, USA |term_start=1960 |term_end=1972..."
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=John Rayburn "Ray" Bertrand
|office= [[Mayor]] of [[Lafayette]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
|term_start=1960
|term_end=1972
|predecessor=Jerome E. Domengeaux
|successor= [[Kenny Bowen]]
| office2=President of the Louisiana Municipal Association
| term_start2=1965
| term_end2=1966
| preceded2=[[Frank T. Norman]]
| succeeded2=John W. Perritt
||birth_date=October 1, 1918
|birth_place=Kinder, Allen Parish, Louisiana
|death_date=March 6, 2005 (aged 86)
|death_place=Lafayette, Louisiana
|resting_place=St. John Cemetery in Lafayette
|spouse= (1) Martha Julie Burgin Bertrand (deceased)<br>
(2) Faith Mensman Bertrand (married for approximately twenty years until his death)
|children=Daughter Cheryl Louise Bertrand (first marriage) and stepdaughter Dana Faith Whelchel Holladay, both of Lafayette
|alma_mater=[[Louisiana State University]]<br>
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
|profession=[[Business]]man
|religion=[[Roman Catholic]]
|footnotes='''Notes''':<br>
*Mayor Bertrand's admirers wanted to rename the [[Lafayette, Louisiana|Lafayette]] Regional Airport in his honor.
*Bertrand won two [[Distinguished Flying Cross]]es and seven Air Medals during his [[World War II]] service.
*During Bertrand's twelve years as mayor of Lafayette, the city nearly doubled in population.
}}
'''John Rayburn Bertrand''', known as '''J. Raymond Bertrand''' or as '''Ray Bertrand''' (October 1, 1918 – March 6, 2005) was a [[business]]man, civic leader, and decorated [[World War II]] veteran who served from 1960 to 1972 as the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] mayor of [[Lafayette]], [[Louisiana]]. During Bertrand's three terms, the city nearly doubled in population, having grown from 40,000 to 75,000, and the corporate limits were extended more than sixty times. Lafayette subsequently became the state's fourth largest city.
==Background==
Bertrand was born in Kinder in Allen Parish in southwestern Louisiana to the former Ethel Marie Acosta and Joseph Claude Bertrand. The family moved to Lafayette in 1932, when Joseph Bertrand sold his electrical operation to a major utility company. Bertrand graduated from Lafayette High School in 1936 and attended [[Louisiana State University]] and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, when that institution was known as Southwestern Louisiana Institute. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in [[accounting]] and business.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/bertrand/782/|title=J. Rayburn Bertrand|publisher=genealogy.com|date=March 8, 2005|authorr=Velia Bertrand, Jr.|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref>
==World War II==
Shortly after graduation, Bertrand applied for aviation cadet training with the [[United States Army Air Forces]] and was accepted in December 1941, after previoiusly working an accountant with a [[New Orleans]] firm.<ref name=obit/>
Bertrand became a fighter pilot early in the war. He flew from [[England]] with the 84th Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group. He was part of its first mission, which was also the first combat mission of the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane. During two years with the group, Bertrand flew eighty-eight combat missions over enemy territory. He earned two [[Distinguished Flying Cross]]es and seven Air Medals. His group was honored with the Presidential Unit Citation. Bertrand flew every position from wing man to group leader of ninety ships. His missions included bomber escort, strafing, fighter sweeps, and drive bombing. He was promoted to the rank of [[major]] while he was on combat duty. He retired as a [[lieutenant colonel]].<ref name=obit/>
==Political career==
Prior to his election as mayor, Bertrand worked in the [[real estate]] and [[insurance]] fields.
[[Ron Gomez|Ronald J. "Ron" Gomez, Sr.]], who was a young reporter at the time that Bertrand became mayor, recalled that Bertrand was "the perfect match for the time and place. He brought dignity and integrity to the political arena and won the trust of his constituents by delivering on his promises. I was impressed with the fact that he took the time to explain to this young reporter, new on the scene, the intricacies and players of the political network in Lafayette and his personal vision and agenda for its future."<ref>[[Ron Gomez]], "Remembering Ray," ''The Independent Weekly," March 16, 2005.</ref>Gomez himself ran for mayor in 1992 but was defeated by the return of Kenny Bowen.
Lafayette gained recognition during the Bertrand years for its race relations; there were no serious racial disturbances in the city throughout Bertrand's 12-year tenure. Bertrand also worked to reduce pollution problems by the extension of some 250 miles of sanitary sewer lines. His administration improved drainage and paved or repaved every street in the city. The Bertrand administration was credited with the expansion of electrical generation capacity from 50,000 to 207,000 watts. The capacity of the Lafayette water treatment plant tripled during the Bertrand administration.<ref name=obit/>
Bertrand worked to implement civil service for municipal employees. Lafayette public and cultural facilities were also improved, as new buildings were erected, including a new police department headquarters, a new library, a new city court building, and a planetarium and youth museum.<ref name=obit/>
Bertrand was mayor under the former city commission type of government. His accomplishments gained state recognition, including two "Project Earth" awards for activities and programs related to improving the environment. He was president of the Louisiana Municipal Association and was cited in 1962 as Louisiana's "Mayor of the Year."<ref name=obit/>
Bertrand retired undefeated as mayor. In the election of 1972, Democrat [[Kenny Bowen|Kenneth Francis "Kenny" Bowen]] (whom Bertrand had defeated in 1968 when Bowen was a [[Republican Party|Republican]], was elected mayor.
On leaving office as mayor, Bertrand joined the Guaranty Bank and Trust Company (now a part of [[Bank One Corporation]]), and served as senior vice president and member of the board of directors. After his retirement from the bank, he continued to manage real estate properties and use his expertise in government to advise and assist boards and commissions working on municipal planning.<ref name=obit/>
==Civic leadership==
Bertrand's name was synonymous with civic leadership in Lafayette: he was a member of the Lafayette Airport Commission, the City of Lafayette Planning and Zoning Commission, the Beavers Club, and the American Legion. He was president of the Lafayette Board of Realtors and the state Board of Realtors, a board member of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, co-chairman of The Bishop's Services Appeal, president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Foundation, executive board member of the Evangeline Area Council of the [[Boy Scouts]], campaign chairman and president of [[United Way]] of Acadiana, and a member of the board of directors of the Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition.<ref name=obit/>
He was active in [[Mardi Gras]] activities, having served as King of the Krewe of Attakapas and as King Gabriel XLII. His community service won him the city's most coveted honor, the Lafayette Civic Cup Award. He also received the "Distinguished Citizens Award" from the Boy Scouts. He was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi honor society and an honorary member of the UL Blue Key Club.
==Death and legacy==
Bertrand was first married to the former Martha Julie Burgin, and they had one daughter, Cheryl.<ref name=obit/> After Julie's death, Bertrand married Faith Ann Mensman (born 1943). She later relocated to Lexington, [[South Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/faith-bertrand/faithbertzmyir|title=Faith Bertrand (Mensman)|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref> At the time of his death, Bertrand had been married to Faith for some twenty years. Bertrand was survived by his wife, daughter, a sister, a stepdaughter, two grandsons, and three great-grandchildren. A [[Roman Catholic]], Bertrand is interred at St. John Cemetery in Lafayette.<ref name=obit/>
Bertrand survived his three brothers, one of whom was Richard J. Bertrand, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Lafayette Parish from 1948 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1964.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrand, J. Rayburn}}
[[Category:Louisiiana People]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]
|name=John Rayburn "Ray" Bertrand
|office= [[Mayor]] of [[Lafayette]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
|term_start=1960
|term_end=1972
|predecessor=Jerome E. Domengeaux
|successor= [[Kenny Bowen]]
| office2=President of the Louisiana Municipal Association
| term_start2=1965
| term_end2=1966
| preceded2=[[Frank T. Norman]]
| succeeded2=John W. Perritt
||birth_date=October 1, 1918
|birth_place=Kinder, Allen Parish, Louisiana
|death_date=March 6, 2005 (aged 86)
|death_place=Lafayette, Louisiana
|resting_place=St. John Cemetery in Lafayette
|spouse= (1) Martha Julie Burgin Bertrand (deceased)<br>
(2) Faith Mensman Bertrand (married for approximately twenty years until his death)
|children=Daughter Cheryl Louise Bertrand (first marriage) and stepdaughter Dana Faith Whelchel Holladay, both of Lafayette
|alma_mater=[[Louisiana State University]]<br>
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
|profession=[[Business]]man
|religion=[[Roman Catholic]]
|footnotes='''Notes''':<br>
*Mayor Bertrand's admirers wanted to rename the [[Lafayette, Louisiana|Lafayette]] Regional Airport in his honor.
*Bertrand won two [[Distinguished Flying Cross]]es and seven Air Medals during his [[World War II]] service.
*During Bertrand's twelve years as mayor of Lafayette, the city nearly doubled in population.
}}
'''John Rayburn Bertrand''', known as '''J. Raymond Bertrand''' or as '''Ray Bertrand''' (October 1, 1918 – March 6, 2005) was a [[business]]man, civic leader, and decorated [[World War II]] veteran who served from 1960 to 1972 as the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] mayor of [[Lafayette]], [[Louisiana]]. During Bertrand's three terms, the city nearly doubled in population, having grown from 40,000 to 75,000, and the corporate limits were extended more than sixty times. Lafayette subsequently became the state's fourth largest city.
==Background==
Bertrand was born in Kinder in Allen Parish in southwestern Louisiana to the former Ethel Marie Acosta and Joseph Claude Bertrand. The family moved to Lafayette in 1932, when Joseph Bertrand sold his electrical operation to a major utility company. Bertrand graduated from Lafayette High School in 1936 and attended [[Louisiana State University]] and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, when that institution was known as Southwestern Louisiana Institute. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in [[accounting]] and business.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/bertrand/782/|title=J. Rayburn Bertrand|publisher=genealogy.com|date=March 8, 2005|authorr=Velia Bertrand, Jr.|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref>
==World War II==
Shortly after graduation, Bertrand applied for aviation cadet training with the [[United States Army Air Forces]] and was accepted in December 1941, after previoiusly working an accountant with a [[New Orleans]] firm.<ref name=obit/>
Bertrand became a fighter pilot early in the war. He flew from [[England]] with the 84th Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group. He was part of its first mission, which was also the first combat mission of the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane. During two years with the group, Bertrand flew eighty-eight combat missions over enemy territory. He earned two [[Distinguished Flying Cross]]es and seven Air Medals. His group was honored with the Presidential Unit Citation. Bertrand flew every position from wing man to group leader of ninety ships. His missions included bomber escort, strafing, fighter sweeps, and drive bombing. He was promoted to the rank of [[major]] while he was on combat duty. He retired as a [[lieutenant colonel]].<ref name=obit/>
==Political career==
Prior to his election as mayor, Bertrand worked in the [[real estate]] and [[insurance]] fields.
[[Ron Gomez|Ronald J. "Ron" Gomez, Sr.]], who was a young reporter at the time that Bertrand became mayor, recalled that Bertrand was "the perfect match for the time and place. He brought dignity and integrity to the political arena and won the trust of his constituents by delivering on his promises. I was impressed with the fact that he took the time to explain to this young reporter, new on the scene, the intricacies and players of the political network in Lafayette and his personal vision and agenda for its future."<ref>[[Ron Gomez]], "Remembering Ray," ''The Independent Weekly," March 16, 2005.</ref>Gomez himself ran for mayor in 1992 but was defeated by the return of Kenny Bowen.
Lafayette gained recognition during the Bertrand years for its race relations; there were no serious racial disturbances in the city throughout Bertrand's 12-year tenure. Bertrand also worked to reduce pollution problems by the extension of some 250 miles of sanitary sewer lines. His administration improved drainage and paved or repaved every street in the city. The Bertrand administration was credited with the expansion of electrical generation capacity from 50,000 to 207,000 watts. The capacity of the Lafayette water treatment plant tripled during the Bertrand administration.<ref name=obit/>
Bertrand worked to implement civil service for municipal employees. Lafayette public and cultural facilities were also improved, as new buildings were erected, including a new police department headquarters, a new library, a new city court building, and a planetarium and youth museum.<ref name=obit/>
Bertrand was mayor under the former city commission type of government. His accomplishments gained state recognition, including two "Project Earth" awards for activities and programs related to improving the environment. He was president of the Louisiana Municipal Association and was cited in 1962 as Louisiana's "Mayor of the Year."<ref name=obit/>
Bertrand retired undefeated as mayor. In the election of 1972, Democrat [[Kenny Bowen|Kenneth Francis "Kenny" Bowen]] (whom Bertrand had defeated in 1968 when Bowen was a [[Republican Party|Republican]], was elected mayor.
On leaving office as mayor, Bertrand joined the Guaranty Bank and Trust Company (now a part of [[Bank One Corporation]]), and served as senior vice president and member of the board of directors. After his retirement from the bank, he continued to manage real estate properties and use his expertise in government to advise and assist boards and commissions working on municipal planning.<ref name=obit/>
==Civic leadership==
Bertrand's name was synonymous with civic leadership in Lafayette: he was a member of the Lafayette Airport Commission, the City of Lafayette Planning and Zoning Commission, the Beavers Club, and the American Legion. He was president of the Lafayette Board of Realtors and the state Board of Realtors, a board member of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, co-chairman of The Bishop's Services Appeal, president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Foundation, executive board member of the Evangeline Area Council of the [[Boy Scouts]], campaign chairman and president of [[United Way]] of Acadiana, and a member of the board of directors of the Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition.<ref name=obit/>
He was active in [[Mardi Gras]] activities, having served as King of the Krewe of Attakapas and as King Gabriel XLII. His community service won him the city's most coveted honor, the Lafayette Civic Cup Award. He also received the "Distinguished Citizens Award" from the Boy Scouts. He was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi honor society and an honorary member of the UL Blue Key Club.
==Death and legacy==
Bertrand was first married to the former Martha Julie Burgin, and they had one daughter, Cheryl.<ref name=obit/> After Julie's death, Bertrand married Faith Ann Mensman (born 1943). She later relocated to Lexington, [[South Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/faith-bertrand/faithbertzmyir|title=Faith Bertrand (Mensman)|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref> At the time of his death, Bertrand had been married to Faith for some twenty years. Bertrand was survived by his wife, daughter, a sister, a stepdaughter, two grandsons, and three great-grandchildren. A [[Roman Catholic]], Bertrand is interred at St. John Cemetery in Lafayette.<ref name=obit/>
Bertrand survived his three brothers, one of whom was Richard J. Bertrand, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Lafayette Parish from 1948 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1964.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrand, J. Rayburn}}
[[Category:Louisiiana People]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]