Deaths Elsewhere

Former senator
OAK RIDGE – Services for former state senator and higher education official Erle Barham will be Oct. 21. He died at age 77.
He served one term in the Louisiana Senate and was the only member of a higher education board who served on the Board of Regents, the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System and the Board of Supervisors of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, holding the chairman’s post of each of those panels. He was a cotton and rice farmer and former member of the Bank of Oak Ridge board.
Survivors include his wife Bennie and four children.
Arrangements are by Cox, Bastrop.

LSU economics prof
BATON ROUGE – Services for LSU Emeritus Professor of Economics Dr. David Smyth will be Oct. 20. He died Oct. 17 at age 78.
He founded and edited the Journal of Macroeconomics and was chairman of the Economics Department at Wayne State University before joining LSU, where he was the LSU Foundation Distinguished Professor of Economics until he retired.
Survivors include his wife Jane and two sons.
Arrangements are by Resthaven.

USL accounting prof
LAFAYETTE – Services for retired USL associate professor of accounting and fraternity sponsor James Wilson will be Oct. 20 in Baton Rouge. He died Oct. 16 at age 81.
He was founding chapter adviser of the Louisiana Alpha chapter Sigma Alpha Episilon and won all the awards that the national SAE organization offers.
Survivors include his wife Anne and four children.
Arrangements are by Resthaven.

Cajun musician
MALLET – Services for Grammy-winning Cajun musician Ralph Fontenot are Oct. 20. He died Oct. 15 at age 55 while on tour in Louisville, Ky.
He was the long-time rubboard player for Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience, a band that won two Grammy Awards.

Pharmaceutical exec
SHREVEPORT – Services for pharmaceutical company executive M. Allen Dickson were Oct. 18. He died Oct. 17 at age 92.
He was a U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II. After working in the energy field he became president of Shreveport Druggists and Morris & Dickson. He build and sold computers for retail drug stores, creating a company IT division with systems in all 50 states. His firm was the fourth largest pharmaceutical distributor in the nation when he retired as chairman in 2013. The sporting goods division he created in 1971 -- Sports South -- is the largest wholesale distributor in its industry.
Survivors include his wife June and five children.

Teacher/principal
ZACHARY – Services for long-time teacher and principal Cherry Boudreaux will be Oct. 20. She died Oct. 16 at age 83.
She was a teacher for 39 years and a principal for 23. She was also state representative for the Louisiana Association of Principals for four years, service on the national association’s nomination committee.
Survivors include her husband Jerry and several children.
Arrangements are by Charlet.

Lawyer
FORT NECESSITY – Services were Oct. 13 for former assistant 18th Judicial District district attorney Joseph Cole, Jr. He died Oct. 8 at age 88.
He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and had a private practice in Port Allen for many years.
Survivors include his wife Carolyn and several children and step-children.

Environmental prof
BATON ROUGE – Services for former LSU environmental affairs professor Dr. Astrid Merget will be Nov. 2. She died Oct. 13.
She joined LSU’s Public and Environmental Affairs faulty in 2007. She had previously been associated with several schools, including Syracuse and Ohio State universities. She had been chair of the National Council for Science and the Environment board of directors.
Survivors include a brother.
Arrangements are by Rabenhorst.

Anesthesiologist
NEW ORLEANS – Services will be Oct. 21 for physician/anesthesiologist Dr. John Russell Davis. He died Oct. 15 at age 79.
He practiced at Touro Infirmary for over 30 years, serving as head of the Department of Surgical Anesthesiology several times. He also practiced at St. Charles General Hospital, Doctor’s Hospital in Shreveport, and the West Jefferson Outpatient Department. He also was an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Charity Hospital in New Orleans.
Survivors include two children.
Arrangements are by Greenwood.