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January 7, 1929 - December 14, 2021
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 17, at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church honoring the life of Ula Mae Touchet Meaux, 92, who died Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, at Maison De Lafayette.
She will be laid to rest at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cemetery with Reverend Roland Vaughn officiating the services.
Ula was known for her beloved names Maw, Aunt Chula and Sis. She will be remembered for her strong love for family, large circle of cherished friends and love of gardening, sewing and family gatherings.
Ula was also always ready for any travel experience with friends or family. In earlier years, she was employed in various jobs in Kaplan, Crowley and Holly Beach and volunteered as a “pink lady” serving others.
She is survived by her daughter, Marlene Olsen (Brian) of Crowley; her grandsons, Ryan Meaux (Ann) of New Iberia and Philip Meaux of Lafayette; her brothers, Gerald Touchet (Linda) of Sulphur and Richard Touchet (Jean) of Kaplan; her sister-in-law, Lena Touchet Frederick (AJ) of Kaplan; her daughter-in-law, Velta Meaux of Lafayette; her great grandchildren, Chris Meaux, Mike Meaux, Kayla Meaux and Amberly Meaux; and her great-great grandchildren, Elan and Elijah Franco.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband of over 50 years, Paul D. “P.D.” Meaux; her son, Douglas Meaux; her parents Ophe and Lillian Touchet; her brother, Edward Touchet; and many other cherished family members.
The family is extremely thankful to all the staff, nurses, CNA’s, and housekeepers of Maison de Lafayette, who for eight years became Ula’s second family. The compassion and love they provided to Ula is forever appreciated.
In addition, the family is grateful for the kindness of Hospice of Acadiana nurses who lovingly supported Ula and family in her final days.
The family had requested that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Kaplan, 300 N. Eleazar Ave., on Thursday, Dec. 16, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. with a rosary being prayed at 6 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 17, from 9 a.m. until the procession departs for the church at 10:45 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of Acadiana.

In his annual end-of-the-year conference Thursday, Gov. John Bel Edwards highlighted the good and the bad of 2021.
Edwards reviewed the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 hurricane season, and investments made across the state.
According to Edwards, 2.5 million Louisiana residents have received a COVID-19 vaccine. 4.7 million doses have been administered in the state. He said half a million residents have received a booster shot.
He said in 2021, Louisiana lost 8,000 people to COVID-19 and had more than half a million infections reported.
Louisiana has lost a total of 14,918 people since the pandemic began, according to Edwards.
Edwards touched on coastal protection and restoration efforts made this year across the state. He also highlighted projects that will tackle clean energy efforts.
In his speech, the governor said Louisiana invested in projects that total more than $20 billion in new capital investment despite the challenges of the pandemic.
He said he signed key legislation that would grant fair access to opportunity in Louisiana, and also reiterated that the state passed a sound budget.
After another year of devastating hurricanes, Edwards said that Louisiana has deployed more than 2,500 trailers to hurricane victims and also announced an $11.3 million housing rehab program in Lake Charles.
Edwards also announced that the state made strides in infrastructure investments, highlighting multiple construction projects across the state.
Edwards said Louisiana is slated to receive nearly $6 billion over the next five years through the federal Infrastructure and Jobs Act.
He ended his speech asking Louisiana to pray with him for a better and brighter year in 2022.

Revenue from the Hotel Occupancy Tax has seen a dramatic increase in the past two years.
“It’s sad to say, but the hurricanes impacted us in a positive way,” said Bart Wild, chairman of the Acadia Parish Tourist Commission.
Revenue this year is up over $205,000, according to Nancy Loewer, executive director, who reported that after three years in the $140,000-range, the HOT revenue jumped to $178,000 last year then to its current figure for 2021.
“It’s sad, but the hurricanes displaced a lot of people in the past two years,” she said. “That and the line crews and other workers staying in hotels had a real impact.”
Hurricanes Laura and Delta devastated the southwest area of the state in 2020 then Hurricane Ida struck the southeast area this year.
“Besides the storms, though, it looks like people are moving around a lot more now,” said Wild. “We’re having more festivals and ball games and such and people are just getting out.”
In other business, Loewer told commissioners that APTC started a new promotion earlier in the week featuring Christmas decorations in the rural areas of Acadia.
“There are a lot of great lights out in the country that a lot of people don’t get to see just because they don’t know about them,” Loewer said.
APTC is asking residents to take photos of lighted up homes “in the country” and either send them to the tourism office or post them with the hashtag ChristmasinAcadia.
Stevie Robinson, intern, reported that the APTC had been awarded a Louisiana Tourism Revival grant in the amount of $78,343.
“That money can be used for marketing,” she explained.
Savanah Trahan, horticulture agent with the LSU AgCenter, was at the meeting to tell of plans for her department including the implementation of “school gardens” at parish schools.
“We already have four schools interested,” she said.
In closing, Wild announced that officers will be elected during the January meeting of the commission.

The Kaplan Pirates were clicking on all cylinders in the first half of their matchup with Northside Christian on Tuesday.
Orlando Roy and Reese Hardee combined for 21 points and the Pirates (2-4) went 11-for-13 from the free throw line in the first two quarters to help the visitors take a 38-30 lead.
From there, it was all Northside Christian, however.
The Warriors went on a 17-4 run in the third quarter and then exploded for 22 points in the fourth quarter to earn a 69-52 victory at Seth Trahan Memorial Gym.
“The first half was a little sloppy for us, but we really turned it around in the second half,” said NCS coach Glenn Daigle. “We just couldn’t really get in a rhythm early, but once we started moving people around, I think I rotated three or four players in and out, we finally found their groove.”
The victory sent the Warriors to 7-9 overall and it also snapped a six-game slide.
“This was a big one for us,” said Daigle. “We’ve been playing some bigger schools, tougher competition, and we played with those guys and were in those games, but we really needed a win tonight for morale.”
Although the first half wasn’t horrible for the Warriors offensively, they struggled on the defensive side where Kaplan scored the bulk of their points in the paint.
The Warriors also got into early foul trouble and gave up 11 points at the charity stripe.
All that changed, however, in the second half.
“We made some adjustments at halftime and the kids really came out and played in the second half,” said Daigle.
Garrett Kidder gave the Warriors a huge spark by scoring eight points in the third quarter and Jake Morgan completed a three-point play with a highlight reel layup and a free throw.
Northside’s defense also played a key role in the momentum shift. The Warriors forced six turnovers in the third period and were able to keep the Pirates out of the lane for the most part.
“The boys did a better job of playing contained defense in the second half,” said Daigle. “In the first half, we were just everywhere and then when they went just total contain, we were able to force some turnovers and get a lot of rebounds.”
Kaplan’s Raine Mire had all four of the Pirates’ points in the frame on a jumper early in the quarter and a floater in the lane just before the buzzer.
Jagger Thibodeaux scored on a pair of driving layups to start the fourth quarter and the Warriors‘ lead grew to nine (51-42) in the first 40 seconds of the frame.
Caleb Hanks added nine of his game-high 17 points down the stretch and Christian Myers had four points to help the Warriors pull away.
Hanks, the Warriors’ leading scorer, was limited to just four points in the first half.
“In the first half, Caleb just wasn’t seeing the court well,” said Daigle of Hanks, who also had 16 rebounds. “In the second half, he started seeing it way better and he started to take over. He made some good passes and when the shots were there, he knocked them down.”
Andrew Woods and Kidder followed Hanks with 12 points each.
Woods helped the Warriors remain in striking distance early in the game by coming off the bench and hitting three big 3-pointers in the first half.
“Andrew has been getting more and more minutes throughout the season and he’s probably our leading 3-point shooter, percent wise,” said Daigle. “He had a great game tonight and really helped keep us in it in the first half.”
Joseph Woods also scored in double figures with 10 points, Thibodeaux and Morgan each added six and Myers finished with four. Carson Tweedel rounded out the Warriors’ offense with two points.
Kaplan was led by Hardee and Roy with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Mire and Derion Turner also scored in double figures for the Pirates with 10 points apiece.
The Warriors now turn their attention to a huge Friday matchup when they will entertain the Family Christian Flames, who currently sit at No. 1 in the Division V power ratings.
The Warriors are five spots below the Flames at No. 6.
“This is a huge game for us,” said Daigle of Friday’s 5:30 p.m. contest. “Family Christian is No. 1 in our division, so it’s a good measuring stick for us to kind of see where we are at and where we need to get to.”