Local Notables

Miss Teen USA 2004 Shelley Catherine Hennig of Destrehan is pictured with Parish President Albert Laque, left, and St. Charles Public Schools Superintendent Rodney Lafon, right.

Senator Joel T. Chaisson president of the Louisiana Senate. Joel T. Chaisson II, a lifelong resident of St. Charles Parish, is a 1977 graduate of Destrehan High School. He obtained his undergraduate degree in business in 1980 from the University of New Orleans followed by his juris doctorate degree in 1983 from the Louisiana State University Law Center. Upon obtaining his law degree, Chaisson sought and won an at-large council position on the St. Charles Parish Council becoming the youngest parish-wide elected official in Louisiana at that time. In 1991, Chaisson was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives where he represented St. Charles Parish for eight years. Chaisson was elected to the Louisiana Senate in 1999 and was re- elected without opposition in 2003 and again in 2007. On January 14, 2008, Chaisson was elected by his colleagues to serve in the Louisiana Senate’s highest leadership post, president of the Senate. In addition to his political career, Chaisson has established a well-respected legal practice in the river parishes and has been very successful as a real estate investor and developer. He and his wife, Sandra Stage Chaisson, reside in Destrehan and have one daughter, Martine Marie Chaisson. He is the oldest of Judge Joel and Bobbie Chaisson’s nine children.

Nancy Tregre Wilson, retired schoolteacher (38 years), historian, and author, is president of the Louisiana Gourmet Enterprises, a family-owned food manufacturing company headquartered in Hahnville. The enterprise was the first to introduce Cajun foods to the grocery market as convenience foods (Mam Papaul Brand). Nancy has written several books including a cookbook, which details her German-French heritage. In 1976, she wrote the history of St. Charles Parish as a bicentennial project. Nancy and Charles Wilson reside in Hahnville.

Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon serves on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana since her appointment to that position by the president of the United States in 1996. Prior to that appointment, she served as a district judge in the Twenty-ninth Judicial District Court in St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes, the first woman to be elected judge in either of those parishes. Previously, she practiced law in Hahnville with her husband, Harry Lemmon and her father, James P. Vial. In 2005, she was chair of the National Conference of Federal Trial Judges and in 2007 was elected to the Hall of Fame of Women in Government. Judge Lemmon worked with school officials to establish a court school for behavior-disordered children on probation. She also spearheaded a Zero Tolerance Program to handle violent behaviors on school campuses. In an effort to comfort and advise domestic violence victims, she hired and trained a special court officer to work with these individuals. Judge Lemmon is the granddaughter of former Sheriff Leon C. Vial, Sr. (Photo by Timeless Images)

Justice Harry T. Lemmon served on the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1980 through 2002. He served on the court of appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1970 to 1980. Prior to becoming a judge, he practiced law in Hahnville with his father-in-law, James P. Vial. He grew up in Morgan City, Louisiana, the son of Gertrude Blum and Earl Lemmon, both teachers. He served as education chair of the National Conference of Appellate Judges for ten years. In 2002, he was selected Outstanding Jurist by the Louisiana Bar Foundation. (Photo by Timeless Images)

Curtis Johnson, Jr., wide receivers coach, joined the New Orleans Saints in 2006 after forging a reputation for developing top-flight targets on the college level for over two decades. His Saints team defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the 2010 Super Bowl. In February of that year, Curtis was honored for his accomplishments with a weeklong exhibit of his memorabilia at the St. Charles Museum on the grounds of Destrehan Plantation. At opening ceremonies, he received salutations and commendations from federal, state, and local officials. Born in New Orleans, he is a kindergarten through high school graduate of St. Charles Borromeo School in Destrehan. Curtis is the son of late Councilman Curtis Johnson, Sr., of St. Rose.

Hahnville folk artist Lorraine Gendron and her husband Louis have created a thriving art industry featuring Mississippi mud. Her mud sculptures have appeared in prestigious venues, fine art museums across the South, and in international collections. Lorraine is also known for her vivid acrylic paintings and whimsical wood cutouts. Her work was featured at the White House in 2001 and is currently hanging in the State Capital in Baton Rouge.

Edward A. Dufresne, Jr., “Father of the St. Charles Parish Home Rule Charter,” attorney since 1963, and chairman of the Home Rule Charter Commission, was instrumental in drafting the first parish constitution. He worked tirelessly for its passage and assisted parish officials for years with implementation of the provisions. Dufresne was elected unopposed to the offices of clerk of court, Twenty-ninth Judicial District judge, and appellate judge of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal for the Third District, serving as chief judge since 2001. Judge Dufresne has been appointed numerous times to sit on the Louisiana Supreme Court and has served continuously for over 45 years as an elected official of the parish.

Sherman Washington, a resident of Boutte, and the Zion Harmonizers Contemporary Music Legends, were internationally recognized gospel recording stars. (Source: Music Legends of St. Charles Parish Booklet prepared by the St. Charles Historical Foundation)

Milton Cambre, a wetlands advocate and Norco resident, has been instrumental in coastal restoration work on the East Bank of St. Charles Parish.

Don Raymond was the first African American to be named to the first all-state football team in Louisiana, as a junior at Hahnville High School.

VICTORIA MARGARET TAYLOR was born November 1, 1917, on All Saints Day in Elkinsville Subdivision, St. Rose, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, the daughter of Alexander Taylor and Octavia Pierre Taylor. Alexander was a farmer and a laborer at a railroad warehouse. Her mother Octavia was a hardworking domestic.

Like so many millions of others African Americans parents in the late 19th Century and 20th Century, Margaret Taylor’s parents moved north to Chicago in 1923 during the Great Migration looking for a better life for themselves and their five-year-old daughter Margaret. Margaret thrived superlatively in her new environment taking advantage of every opportunity afforded her. She would establish herself as an educator, a prolific writer, poet, and visual artist. At the very young age of 23, she co-founded the Chicago South Side Community Art Center in 1939. First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt was in attendance at the opening dedication. Throughout her life, Margaret stayed true to her southern roots always connecting with family in the little town where she was born.

Margaret attended public schools in Chicago and graduated from Englewood High School in 1933. She earned her Teachers Certificate in 1937 at Chicago’s Normal College and continued her studies at Chicago Teachers College and the Art Institute of Chicago earning her Bachelor of Education in Art Education in 1946. In 1948, Margaret earned a Master of Arts degree.

Taylor became a prolific writer exploring the Black experience. She had a particular interest in helping children with their cultural identity as well as introducing them to art awareness.

Margaret spent most of her career at DuSable High School (1946-1969). During these years she produced a series of children’s books. In 1947 she produced her first children’s book titled Jasper, The Drummin Boy. In 1968 she published her own book of poetry titled What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black? A second volume of poems Africa, My Africa was published in 1070. From 1969 until 1974, she was a Professor of Humanities at Kennedy King Community College in Chicago.

Margaret Taylor Burroughs and her husband Dr. Charles Burroughs established the Ebony Museum of Negro History & Art in Chicago, the first museum of African American history and culture in the United States. According to an article from The Historic New Orleans Quarterly (Fall 2017) by Judith Bonner, the museum was renamed the DuSable Museum of African American History; the museum has grown from an original 100 artifacts to over 100,000.

In 1939 Margaret Taylor married artist Bernard Goss and they divorced in 1947. The couple had one daughter, Gayle Goss Toller. In 1949 she married Charles Gordon Burroughs and they remained married for 45 years. They had a son Paul Burroughs.

MARGARET TAYLOR GOSS BURROUGHS died in her Chicago South Side home on November 21, 2010. According to the article by Bonner, after her death, President Barack Obama issued a statement noting that Burroughs “was widely admired for her contributions to American culture as an esteemed artist, historian, educator, and mentor.”

Ed Reed spent most of his youth in St. Rose. Graduate of Destrehan High School and the University of Miami. Played in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, and New York Jets. In 2019 Reed was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Miss Teen USA 2004

Senator Joel T. Chaisson

Nancy Tregre Wilson

Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon

Justice Harry T. Lemmon

Curtis Johnson, Jr.

Lorraine and Louis Gendron

Judge Edward A. Dufresne

Sherman Washington

Milton Cambre

Don Raymond

Victoria Margaret Taylor Burroughs

Ed Reed

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