Joseph "Minus" Mouton

Kaplan—A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, August  2, 2023 at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church honoring the life of Joseph “Minus” Mouton, 90, a loving husband and father who passed away peacefully with his wife by his side, Friday, July 28, 2023 at Kaplan Healthcare Center.  He will be laid to rest at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cemetery with Reverend Mark Miley officiating the services. Pallbearers will be James Mouton, Ryan Hebert, Jason Dubus and Dennis Dubus.

One of four children, Minus was born on November 9, 1932, about three miles south of Kaplan.  His parents owned and operated a grocery store, Moutons Grocery, now bearing the name of the well-known Suire’s Grocery.  He had three sisters and worked on the family farm.  He graduated from Kaplan High School in 1950 at which time he decided to attend college at SLI, later named USL, and as we know it now UL at Lafayette.  Minus studied there until transferring to Loyola University in New Orleans, where he graduated in Pharmacy in 1954.  That same year he married his high school sweetheart, Helen “Jane” Leblanc.  In 1955 he and his wife welcomed their first child, Jennie and later that same year Minus  was drafted into the Army where he spent the next two years. While in the service he earned a medal for marksmanship, but the Army soon discovered that Minus could type 70 words per minute, so they armed him with a typewriter instead of a rifle and he became the Company Clerk.  His company ultimately deployed to Germany while he stayed behind stationed at Fort Polk. While spending his days as Company Clerk, he spent his afternoons as a practicing Pharmacist in Lake Charles to earn extra money to support his growing family.  In 1956 his second daughter, Charlene, was born.  After being discharged (he typed up his own discharge papers), he and the girls moved around while he worked in different places as a Pharmacist, eventually ending up in Abbeville.  In 1957 he was proud to buy his first and only brand new car, a 57 Chevy.  In 1958 his first son, Reuben, was born and five years later in 1963, while he and his wife were expecting another child, he bought an acre of land from his father where he built the family home.  He liked to share the story that he had picked that acre because in the flood of 1940 all the cattle they owned had gathered on this spot to avoid the high water.  He never moved from this location.  In December of 1963, James, the last of his four children, was born.   Minus loved being on the water and, while he did enjoy some hunting, his favorite things were fishing and going to the beach, whether that  be Galveston, Rutherford, Holly Beach or on the east coast at Fernandina Beach, Florida   where he would visit one of his college roommates.  Minus opened up his own drug store in Kaplan but when he was forced to close it, he sought employment out of town, ending up in Deridder, Louisiana.  Over the next several years he worked all week there, returning home on weekends, until he secured a job at the Medical Center Pharmacy in Kaplan.  After retiring, he did relief work for other Pharmacists in the area.

He kept his license active for 50 years.  In his later years he slowed down quite a bit and spent  more time closer to home while enjoying visits with people and  telling stories from “back in the day” to whoever wanted to listen.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Helen “Jane” Mouton; his children, Charlene Dubus, Reuben Mouton and James Mouton and his wife, Malana; his nine grandchildren; and   his 14 great grandchildren; and a host of numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Fernand Mouton and the former Ella Mae Menard; his three sisters, Verna Marie Mouton Duhon, Wilda Mouton Simon and Alley Mae Mouton Holloway; his daughter, Jennie Madeline Mouton Hebert; and his two sons-in-law, Ricky Hebert and Andre Dubus.

The family would like to thank Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Hospice of Acadiana, Acadiana Foot Center, Louisiana Cardiovascluar Limb Salvage Center and Kaplan Healthcare Facility for the care they gave Minus.

The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church, 600 N. Church Avenue, on Wednesday, August 2, 2023 from 8:00 AM until the time of the services at 11:00 AM with a rosary being prayed at 9:30 AM.