Viola Ann Gautreau Thibeau

Viola Ann Gautreau was born in New Orleans on October 20, 1927 and passed away on December 9, 2018 at the age of 91 from congestive heart failure. She worked at Gulf States Utilities, Maison Blanche, and helped build and operate the Kab-A-Ra Lounge in Gonzales for many years, but her life was devoted to caring for her husbands, family, and animals. Viola, or Vi as she was known, was a light in the lives of all who knew her. She always had a smile on her face and never met a stranger. She was a card-playing straight shooter who always told it like she saw it, sometimes to a fault, but always meaning well. Viola was a voracious reader, talented painter, and had a love for dancing, evident in her youth as a jitterbug champion and in later years as a constant supporter of her granddaughters’ and great-granddaughters’ love for dance. She will be greatly missed and never forgotten by all who loved and knew her. Viola is preceded in death by her parents Wright Gautreau and Odille Thibeau, eldest son Darryl Braud, Sr., husbands Virgil Braud, Billy Daugherty, and Joe Thibeau, and her animals, Rusty, Boots, Bandit, Mitzi, Fat Cat, and Bailee. She is survived by her son Kerry Braud and wife Andrea, son Troy Braud and wife Gwyn, and daughter-in-law Sherry Braud; grandchildren Mandy Grier and husband Jason, Kelli Braud and husband Billy Williamson, Dean Braud and wife Kristen, Jenna Braud and husband Dustin, Darryl Braud, Jr. and wife Amanda, and Laura Jones and husband Tom; great-grandchildren Isabella and Abigail Grier, Avery Guinn and Amelie Williamson, Trevor and Wyatt Braud, Myles and Brady Braud, Kourtney and Katie Braud, Kayla Stone and Lacy Remondet; great-great-grandchildren Aayvyn and Autumn Stone, and Oliver Remondet; and her beloved one-eyed dog Lucy “Lulu.” A private viewing was held for the immediate family on December 12, 2018. Memorial and celebratory services will be held at Ourso Funeral Home in Gonzales on Monday, December 17, 2018, at 6pm. Flowers and testimonies are welcome; memorial donations may be made to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (www.aspca.org). Arrangements by Church Funeral Services, St. Amant