Curtis Joubert

AT THE REQUEST OF THE FAMILY MASK MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES IN THE FUNERAL HOME AND AT THE CHURCH.

NO RECEPTION WILL FOLLOW DUE TO COVID RESTRICTIONS.

EUNICE~It is with the heaviest hearts and great sadness that the family of Curtis Joubert announces his passing on Friday, October 30, 2020 in the comfort of his home surrounded by his loving family. He was 89. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 am on Saturday, November 07, 2020 at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Eunice. Entombment will follow in the St. Paul Mausoleum with Father Hampton Davis Celebrant.

Curtis’s  greatest passion and love was his family. His memory will live on in all who loved him, especially his loving  wife of forty two years, Kristine Kimball Joubert of Eunice; his loving children, Candance Khalifa and husband, Taha and their children, Dahlia and Mohamed Khalifa of Dubai, UAE; Jonathan Joubert and wife, Cheramie and their children Georgia Rose and Jonathon Joubert, Jr of Colorado Springs and Kelly Cook Vidrine and husband, Bailey and their children Madeline Pitre and Ellison Vidrine of Duralde.

He is preceded in death by his parents; Edmond and Julia Prejean Joubert and brothers, Elvin “Van” and Frank Joubert.

At the request of the family, visitation will be held at Ardoin’s Funeral Home in Eunice on Friday, October 6th from 4:00 pm until 10:00 pm and again on Saturday, October 7th from 8:00 am until time of services. A Local Veteran Ceremony will be held at 5:30 pm on Friday. A Rosary will be recited at 6:00 pm on Friday by Deacon Gary Gaudin.

At the request of the family mask must be worn at all times in the funeral home and at the church. No reception will follow due to covid restrictions.

Curtis was born on May 22, 1931 in Lawtell of St. Landry Parish in South Louisiana to Edmond Joubert and the former Julia Prejean. He entered public school speaking only French. In 1948, he graduated from Lawtell High School. In 1951, Joubert served in the Korean War. Thereafter, he graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, formerly known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana or USL from which he obtained a Bachelor of Science and a master’s degree, both in the field of Education. He undertook further graduate studies at USL and Louisiana State University LSU, in Baton Rouge. In 1988, USL honored Joubert as its “Outstanding Graduate in the College of Education”. In 1999, as part of its centennial celebration, USL designate Joubert one of its top sixty graduates during the preceding century. In his educational career, Joubert worked as a classroom teacher, basketball coach, counselor, and assistant principal at Eunice High School. He was the former director of the Eunice Vocational Educational Center. In 1961-1962, Joubert was named the “Southwest Louisiana Coach of the Year.” In 1967, he decided to run for the state legislature and served one term in the Louisiana House of Representatives, before reapportionment dissolved his district. He  served a term during the second administration of Governor John McKeithen from 1968 until 1972.

In 1981, Joubert was elected mayor of Eunice and served until he retired in 1995. Mayor Joubert helped to establish the Eunice Mardi Gras celebration, considered the largest small-town gathering of its kind in Louisiana. He coined the nickname for Eunice, “Prairie Cajun Capital.” Numerous journalists covering the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans, which nominated the Bush-Quayle ticket, took side trips to Eunice to sample the authentic Cajun culture. In the process of doing so, many interviewed Joubert; such coverage brought nation attention to Acadian.

Joubert founded the World’s Championship Crawfish Cook-Off Contest. He has his own popular recipe for crawfish étouffée. He was instrumental in the development of the Prairie Acadian Culture Center, one of the three sections of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve within the National Park Service. In 1986, he successfully spearheaded the renovation of the Liberty Theatre in downtown Eunice, which features the weekly “Rendez-vous des Cajuns” radio music show in which all the selections are in French. He worked for the establishment of the Eunice Depot Museum. He joined with the faculty at Louisiana State University at Eunice, a junior college, to establish the Cajun Prairie Wildflower Habitat. He was the founders of the LSUE booster club.  He was a member of the board of Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, widely known as CODOFIL.

After his tenure as mayor, Joubert was executive assistant to the Louisiana Public Service Commission, the regulatory body for transportation, utilities, and communications, of which Huey Pierce Long, Jr., and John McKeithen, were once members.

In 2008, Governor Bobby Jindal appointed Joubert, along with the New Orleans restaurateur Paul Prudhomme, to the Louisiana Tourism Development Commission, an entity created to foster employment opportunities in the travel and hospitality industries of the state.

In 1995, Joubert was featured in an article in Southern Living magazine. In 2003, he worked in the planning of the bicentennial celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. On November 29, 2003, Joubert was inducted as a “Living Legend” by the Acadian Museum in Erath in Vermilion Parish. He is also an inductee of the Louisiana State University at Eunice Hall of Fame for his longstanding work in promoting Bengal team athletics. In 2005, Joubert was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield. In 2013, Joubert obtained an historical marker to commemorate the German prisoner of war camp at Eunice during World War II. A number of the former POW’s visited Eunice decades after their confinement, some during the time that Joubert was mayor.

Family and friends may view this obituary and sign the guestbook at www.ardoinfuneralhomes.com

Ardoin’s Funeral Home of Eunice, 1301 West Laurel Ave, (337)457.3371 is in charge of arrangements.