Roy R. Theriot
| Roy R. Theriot, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Louisiana State Comptroller | |
| In office 1960 – 1973, his death |
|
| Preceded by | William Joseph "Bill" Dodd |
| Mayor of Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, USA | |
| In office 1954 – 1960 |
|
| Sergeant-at-arms of the Louisiana House of Representatives | |
| In office 1952 – 1956 |
|
| Preceded by | Cliff Liles |
| Succeeded by | Gaston Ducote |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 26, 1914 Erath, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, USA |
| Died | April 19, 1973 (aged 58) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Roberts Theriot (married 1947-his death) |
| Children | Barbara Ellen Moraist Roy Theriot, Jr. |
| Alma mater | University of Louisiana at Lafayette |
| Occupation | Attorney; Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Roy R. Theriot, Sr. (June 26, 1914 – April 19, 1973), was the Democratic state comptroller of Louisiana from 1960-1973. Previously, Theriot (pronounced TEH RHEE OH) was the mayor of Abbeville, the seat of Vermilion Parish in south Louisiana from 1954-1960.
Theriot was born in Erath in Vermilion Parish to Lastie Theriot and the former Emerite Barras. He was educated in Erath public schools, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (at the time Southwestern Louisiana Institute), and the Tulane University Law School in New Orleans. He began his law practice on June 7, 1939. He took a role in civic affairs and organized the Abbeville Dairy Festival, first held in September 1949. The celebration was renamed the "Louisiana Cattle Festival" in 1979. Theriot also organized the Acadian Boucherie Breakfast, which began in January 1960, as a means to preserve the Cajun French culture.
On June 7, 1947, he married the former Helen Roberts (1924–1990). The couple had three children: Barbara Ellen Theriot (1949), Roy R. Theriot, Jr. (1952), and Samuel H. Theriot (1954).
From 1952-1956, Theriot was the sergeant-at-arms of the Louisiana House of Representatives. In 1954 he was also elected the Mayor of Abbeville. In 1959, he won the Democratic nomination for Louisiana comptroller over several opponents, including future U.S. Representative Joe D. Waggonner, Jr., of Plain Dealing in Bossier Parish, northwestern Louisiana.[1] In the Democratic runoff election, Theriot defeated Marion C. Henderson (1920–2010) of Colfax, the seat of Grant Parish.[2] He then defeated the first and only Republican candidate ever to seek the administrative position, Robert Lee Clark, Jr., an accountant from Many, Louisiana, the seat of Sabine Parish, who had been a presidential elector for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. Theriot received 86.7 percent of the April 19, 1960, general election vote, compared to Clark's 13.3 percent.
In December 1963, Theriot faced a primary with fellow Democrats George Dupuis, Andrew J. Falcon (1923–1991), and Arthur LeBlanc.[3] He then prevailed in a January 1964 runoff with Falcon.[4] In later elections in 1967 and 1972, Theriot faced minimal or no opposition. Theriot became comptroller in the second administration of Governor James Houston "Jimmie" Davis and served throughout the John J. McKeithen tenure and the first year of Edwin Washington Edwards' first term.
The Theriots were devout Catholics and their remains are entombed in St. Mary Magdalen Mausoleum in Abbeville. They are honored through the Roy and Helen Theriot Memorial Endowed Scholarship in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Minden Press, November 23, 1959, p. 13
- ^ Minden Press, January 11, 1960, p. 1
- ^ Minden Press, December 9, 1963, p. 1
- ^ "Social Security Death Index". ssdi.rootsweb.ancesry.com. http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
[edit] References
- "Roy Theriot", A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, Vol. 2 (1988), p. 785, New Orleans Times-Picayune, December 5, 1959
- http://www.louisianacattlefestival.org/Our%20Festival.htm
- http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi
- http://www.laffnet.org/Hall%20of%20Fame/Horaist.htm
- http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?p=Roy+Theriot+of+Louisiana&prssweb=Search&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-500&u=foundation.louisiana.edu/scholarships/2004-endowed.html&w=roy+theriot+louisiana&d=ZUP2gyQ8NSOo&icp=1&.intl=us
| Preceded by William Joseph "Bill" Dodd |
Louisiana State Comptroller (previously Auditor)
Roy R. Theriot, Sr. |
Succeeded by Appointee of Governor Edwin Washington Edwards; Elected position ended by Constitution of 1974 |
| Preceded by Cliff Liles |
Sergeant-at-arms of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Roy R. Theriot, Sr. |
Succeeded by Gaston Ducote |
