Verlous J. French, 92, formerly of Jena and Alexandria, passed from this life on Saturday, November 16, 2013, in Kansas City, Missouri. He was born in LaSalle Parish, the son of Jacob H. French and Myrtle Snow French.
Mr. French graduated from Block High School in Jonesville and served as a pharmacist’s assistant in the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor during World War II. Following his military service, he married and attended pharmacy school at Loyola University in New Orleans, where he graduated first in his class and earned Alpha Chi academic honors. Loyola University later awarded him an honorary doctorate of Pharmacy in recognition of his long service as a pharmacist. Mr. French and his wife, Lena, owned and operated Honeycutt Drug Store in Jena for many years until their retirement in Alexandria. He was an active member of Nolley Memorial Methodist Church in Jena and later of First Methodist Church in Alexandria. He served as District Lay Leader and president of the Methodist Men. In retirement, he did volunteer work at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Shepherd’s Center. In 2010, he moved with his wife to Overland Park, Kansas to be near family members. Services were held Saturday, Nov. 23, at Nolley Memorial Methodist Church in Jena with Rev. Daniel Hixon officiating. Interment followed in the Nolley church cemetery under direction of Hixson Brothers Funeral Home of Jena. Survivors include his wife of 66 years, Lena Windham French; three daughters, Amanda Gayle Palmer and husband Paul, Nina Cope and husband Ken, and Dr. Karen French; two granddaughters, Emily Cope Carlson and husband Barak, and Amanda Cope Hall and husband Ryan; and one great grandson, Ryder Hall. Memorials may be made to the United Methodist Committee on Relief or to any charitable organization providing relief around the world
Rate this article: