Donald James Olivier

Donald was born on July 15, 1946, to Alexis and Suzanne Olivier, in Arnaudville, Louisiana. The youngest of nine children. 

He lost both parents and two sisters when he was five years old in a tornado. His oldest sister and her husband, Margie and Buddy Broussard, took in Donald and his two older brothers and raised them as their own. And that’s how he came to Lake Charles. 

He graduated from high school in 1964 without having missed a single day of school in twelve years. 

Donald went to work for Southern Pacific Railroad in Beaumont, Texas as a clerk in 1965.

In 1966 he was drafted into the United States Marine Corp. He proudly served for two years. Upon his discharge, he returned to his job with the railroad. 

On June 6, 1970, he married Jean Champagne, the love of his life. Their story began several years before. They had met as children. His sister, Loycie, was married to Jean’s uncle, Onezimr Marks, Jr. They went on their first “date” at about the age of fourteen. His sister drove them to the movies. The next date wasn’t until 1968!

They were married in St. Bernard Catholic Church in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. They started their married life in an apartment on 13thStreet, which faced the back of St. Anne’s Church, where they attended mass until they moved to Vidor, Texas in 1974. 

They lived in a mobile home on land they had bought from Jim and Iona Youngblood. In 1977, they had two children, Dawn and Kirk, and realized they needed more room. They looked at a few houses and Donald decided he could build them a house. 

They borrowed $10,000 to pour a foundation and frame the house. Jean went to work to pay for the rest as they built. The only knowledge he had of construction was electricity, which he had learned in the Marines! He bought a book on carpentry, plumbing, and electrical. He talked to people with experience and studied his books. He hired people to finish the concrete, frame the house, and brick it. The rest he did; he did get help from his brothers, cousins, and nephews, and his biggest helper was Jean. She’d clean, paint, and even drove a nail or two. They moved in in 1979 and the house was completely paid for. Beside his three children, this house was his proudest accomplishment! Duane was born in 1981. 

The house story doesn’t end there. In 1994, there was a fire. The kitchen was destroyed and most of the house had smoke damage. Because of time constraints, they had the repairs professionally done, but rest assured he watched their every move. They had to tear out and rebuild quite a few times. And even with their disagreements, he’d cook lunch for them at least once a week. 

Donald retired from the railroad in July of 2007, after forty-two years of service. During that time, Southern Pacific had become Union Pacific and he had become an engineer. 

In 2008, here comes Hurricane Ike and floods their home. Thanking God that they had bought flood insurance, they tore out the damage with the help of family and friends. And with Jean by his side, he repaired the damage. 

Then in 2017 they were struck by Hurricane Harvey and got 40 inches of water in the house. And again, with Jean and their army of family and friends, they rebuilt!

Donald loved to travel. He as bit by the traveling bug in 1973 when Jean’s mother asked them to drive her to Virginia to visit her son and his wife who were expecting a baby. From that point on he and Jean took several trips. The most memorable one was an Alaskan Cruise in August of 2010. They went to many of the national parks, Washington, D.C., Maine, California, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado. Their most recent trip was to Disney World with Dawn and their grandchildren in June of 2017. Their most frequent trip was to North Carolina to visit Duane through Tennessee where they’d visit with Larry and Sue. His most adventurous trip was when he, Kirk, Duane, and Larry took a boat trip down the Mississippi from Vicksburg, Mississippi to through the locks into the Atchafalaya River and on to Butte La Rose, Louisiana. Their next adventure was to have taken them to Washington and Oregon. 

Donald had many trials in his life. The most recent being when Jean was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2018. But like with everything else in their lives, they received God’s grace and continued forward. He was the best nurse anyone could ask for. He took really good care of her during her surgeries and trips to Houston. 

He was the nurturer of the family. Making sure his sisters and brothers were cared for. He helped with his brother Earl during his illness. Cooked many meals for his sister/mother Tot when she had surgeries and was currently caring for brother C.V. who was in a nursing home. 

Donald had many other names; babe, Don, Daddy, Pop, Shorty, Uncle, Brother, Cousin, Parain (Godfather), Friend, and Neighbor. 

He leaves many to cherish his memory. His wife of forty-eight years, Jean Champagne Olivier; daughter, Dawn Davenport and her husband, Earl, and their two children, John Earl and Emma Davenport from Silsbee; sons, Kirk Olivier and his son, Elijah, from Vidor and Duane Olivier from Raleigh, North Carolina; sister/mother, Margie “Tot” Broussard from Lake Charles, Louisiana; sisters, Jessie Savoie from Vidor and Loycie Marks from Arnaudville, Louisiana; brothers, Charles “C.V.” Olivier from Arnaudville, Louisiana and Larry Olivier and his wife, Sue from Reliance, Tennessee. All of his nieces and nephews who were not much younger than him, who he thought of as his brothers and sisters also, especially Gene, Mark, Randy, and Rickey Broussard and Susan Broussard Bellon. He is also survived by his God-children, Aaron Thibodeaux, Clint Savoie, and Danielle Champagne Guidry, and too many others to name individually, cousins, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and extended family members. 

He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Hubert LeBlanc Olivier; brother, Earl John Olivier; sisters, Shirley and Pearl Olivier; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Maud Marks Champagne and Phillip “Yute” Champagne; brothers-in-law, R.R. “Buddy” Broussard, Joseph Savoie, and Onezimr “June” Marks, Jr; and sister-in-law, Ann Champagne. 

Memorial contributions for Mr. Olivier may be made to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 1600 North Main, Vidor, Texas 77662, St. Mark Catholic Church, 905 North 9th, Silsbee, Texas 77656, and American Cancer Society, 4 Bayoubrandt Drive, Suite B, Beaumont, Texas 77706. 

A gathering of Mr. Olivier’s family and friends will from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., with his Rosary to be recited at 5:00 p.m., Sunday, November 4, 2018, at Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin Avenue, Beaumont. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m., Monday, November 5, 2018, at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 1600 North Main, Vidor, with a reception to follow in the Church Hall. His graveside service will be held at 3:00 p.m., Monday, November 5, 2018, at St. Francis Regis Cemetery Church, 231 Main Street, Arnaudville, Louisiana, with a reception to follow at the Firehouse.