Lastrapes was born in [[New Orleans]] to William Dudley Lastrapes, Sr. (1897–1973), and the former Gertrude Schminke (1895–1985),<ref name=genealogy>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103371552/william-dudley-lastrapes|title=William Dudgle Lastrapes, Sr.|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=September 23, 2019}}</ref> but he was reared in Opelousas in St. Landry Parish in south Louisiana. The senior Lastrapes owned the Opelousas Credit Bureau and published the local ''Legal Times.'' Lastrapes graduated from Opelousas High School in 1946. He then attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then known as the Southwestern Louisiana Institute), from which in 1950, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in [[English]] and communications. | Lastrapes was born in [[New Orleans]] to William Dudley Lastrapes, Sr. (1897–1973), and the former Gertrude Schminke (1895–1985),<ref name=genealogy>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103371552/william-dudley-lastrapes|title=William Dudgle Lastrapes, Sr.|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=September 23, 2019}}</ref> but he was reared in Opelousas in St. Landry Parish in south Louisiana. The senior Lastrapes owned the Opelousas Credit Bureau and published the local ''Legal Times.'' Lastrapes graduated from Opelousas High School in 1946. He then attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then known as the Southwestern Louisiana Institute), from which in 1950, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in [[English]] and communications. |