Burris F. "Tunny" Gautreau Jr.

Our amazing father danced his way into heaven and back into the arms of his loving wife on July 6,2026 surrounded by his adoring family. He was born and raised in Gonzales, Louisiana, which was always his home. He was a 1956 graduate of Gonzales High School where he met the love of his life, his beloved wife of 65 years, Myra. After falling in love in high school, they remained totally devoted to each other for the following 70 years. Dad was madly in love with his bride until the day he passed. After our mother passed in 2024 Dad’s heart was never completely whole again.

He was the proud and loving father of Michael "Chan" Gautreau (Susan), Tira LeBlanc, Dami Minvielle (Kirk), and Rhett Gautreau (Chelette). Also survived by 10 grandchildren, Ryan (Patty) LeBlanc, Jen Fox, Dane LeBlanc (Poette), Chance LeBlanc, Kalen (Lindsey) Minvielle, Brennan Minvielle, Micah (Sydnee) Gautreau, Dillon Gautreau, Hannah Gautreau, Grant Gautreau, 10 great-grandchildren, Lance (Daniela) LeBlanc, Sophie LeBlanc, Addison, Ellie, Mason, Noah & Ruth Minvielle, Mattie & Baker Gautreau, Zia Fox, and by his loving siblings, sister LeeAnn (Harold) Judice, brother Maurice "Poodle" (Sherrie) Gautreau, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Preceded in death by his parents, Burris F Gautreau Sr., Alvirda Louque, brother Shelby Gautreau, infant siblings Don and Shirley and infant son, Gerald Paul.

He had many accomplishments in his life and one of his proudest was being a Navy veteran who served his country aboard the USS Midway. He made 3 world cruises during his time in service. His children and grandchildren were privileged to hear all the stories of his assignment on the mighty ship in “Primary Fly” which was located atop the aircraft carrier bridge and had a panoramic view of all the aircraft leaving and arriving. He toured the world and went to so many countries during this time, he was even at the ceremony when Hawaii became part of the United States. His time in the military shaped him into the incredible man, husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather he became.

He spent his working career as the General Manager of several Heavy Equipment corporations. This was a perfect fit for his outgoing personality and love of people. He would make friends during the first conversation he had with anyone he would meet. Early in his career his job required him to spend months away from home. During the summer months his family always joined him wherever he was. These times turned out to be great adventures for the family living in different towns in South Louisiana. His work career touched on several local companies such as H.E. Weise, Nichols (Turner Industries), NES Rentals, Bengal Crane, and Maxim Crane.

A year before his retirement he was diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy and had severe heart damage. The family was devastated, not knowing what the future held for him.

Mom became an expert medical researcher during this time and dad was the most compliant patient that ever lived. We were told that his time would be limited, but our mother refused to accept this, and she eventually found Dr. Freddy Abi Samra who met and fell in love with our dad. He implanted an ICD-defibrillator into dad which was one of the first of this design. Dad thrived over the years, and Dr. Freddy even brought dad with him to Washington D.C. to speak before the legislators to see how this device saved his life since Medicare was denying this device at the time. Dr. Freddy kept a picture of him and Dad in D.C. on his desk until he retired. Dad was on his 4th ICD-defibrillator at the time of his death all implanted by Dr. Freddy.

There was no stronger love than he had for his children and grandchildren. He loved his children with his whole heart, but when the grandchildren came along, they trumped everything else. He enjoyed every grandchild that entered the family with all their different personalities and hobbies. He and mom never missed a sporting event, band concert, award ceremony, theater performance or anything else they were involved in even if it involved traveling. Both him and our mother were their most loyal and biggest fans. The grandchildren filled their lives and their calendars with great joy. They were famously known for the grandchildren ‘sleep overs’ which they had 10 of them over. It was just the two of them and the grandchildren for the whole night, and they could have or eat whatever they wanted and stay up all night if they wanted to. This always involved Dad going to every fast-food drive through in town, but he did it with a smile and whistled the whole way back home. This time is the most cherished memories for all their grandchildren, and the stories of these nights will be told for many years to come.

Dad was known for his love of music and dancing. He was always the highlight of every family wedding reception when he hit the dance floor. A wedding reception just wasn’t the same without him in the center of the dance floor with a crowd forming around him. He loved having mom as his permanent dance partner and you could always see the love in their eyes when their eyes met on the dance floor. In their later years they went to every senior citizen sock hop and tea dance. These were some exciting times for them to spend time socializing and dancing with some of their closest friends. Dad was also a life long member of St. Theresa of Avila Catholic Church.

Special thanks to Amedisys Hospice and his favorite nurse Kelli Millet who took excellent care of both him and our mother until the end of their lives. We also appreciate his loving caregivers, Alima and Lynn who also took care of our mother and then later Michelle, Ashley, Terrence, when dad required 24hr care. They were all ready to follow us on Dad’s adventures to all the senior citizen dances, visits to Francois Bend to visit his lifelong friend Perry Aldridge and fun trips to Diversion Pizza. We would also like to thank Mr. John Storey who visits Navy veterans throughout the state of Louisiana for Amedysis Hospice. Dad cherished his visits and he loved the discussions about the time they spent in the military.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Funeral Mass at St. Theresa of Avila, 212 East New River St., Gonzales, LA, on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Visitation 9-10am, Funeral mass 10:00 a.m. followed by burial St. Theresa of Avila Cemetery. Reception to follow at KC Hall on Irma Blvd. 

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to Louisiana Pediatric Cardiology Foundation at www.lpcf.com or by mail; 2137-A Quail Run Dr., Suite A, Baton Rouge, La, 70808 St. or Jude Children’s Research Hospital which was instrumental in saving the life of his great-granddaughter, Sophie.