Levi J. Schexnider

Kaplan—A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, November 24, 2023 at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Catholic Church honoring the life of Levi Joseph Schexnider, 87, who died Friday, November 17, 2023 at Ochsner Acadia General Hospital.  He will be laid to rest at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cemetery with Reverend Stephen Sahayaraj Irudayasamy and Deacon Bryan Istre officiating the services.

Levi Joseph Schexnider was born on March 3, 1936, to Elenia and Andre Schexnider in Abbeville, LA. He was the youngest of 10 children and was said to have had a good childhood despite being impoverished. As a student, he excelled academically. He later met his wife, Eula Mae Primeaux, and married in 1955, staying together for 67 years until his passing. We can, without a doubt, say that he has gone above and beyond in paying his dues over the past 67 years. Levi and Eula had three children:  One son, Andy Schexnider and two daughters, Margaret Terry Schexnider and Kathleen S. Faulk.

In his early life, Levi worked at the Simon Rice Drier weighing rice trucks, drying rice, and taking care of the bookkeeping. During this time, he also was a voluntary member of the National Guard 256 Infantry. Later, in 1957 he began working as a parcel post deliverer for the Kaplan Post Office. For the next 40 years he continued to work at the Kaplan Post Office, eventually becoming a mailman, then as superintendent of postal operations, and eventually the postmaster of the Kaplan Post Office in 1990.  Levi served as a church lecturer at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Kaplan and was an active member of the Knights of Columbus Council 2913. Also, when KMDL Radio was founded in Kaplan, he worked as a DJ hosting his early morning Cajun music program, “Lever avec Levi”.  The station eventually relocated to Lafayette and he continued to broadcast from Lafayette for a short time. Due to his passion and enjoyment of Cajun culture and music, he was instrumental in the founding of the annual Le Jour de Cajun celebration in Kaplan hosted by the Knights of Columbus.  The first celebration took place 30 years ago and is still hosted today. Because of his work as the KMDL DJ and his efforts in preserving Cajun music and culture, he was recognized by the Cajun French Music Association.

During his time working as a mailman, he was able to visit with numerous people daily in the community through his mail delivery walking routes and helping people whenever possible. Always seeing himself as someone to serve others, in 1998 he retired from his position as postmaster of the Kaplan Post office, and ran for mayor of Kaplan, serving his first term from 1998-2002. He sought re-election and was reelected as mayor to serve his second term from 2002-2006.  After finishing his final term as mayor, he fully retired and spent more time with family and grandchildren, often hosting a meal almost weekly for the entire family. Wanting to spend the rest of their lives living in the country, Levi and Eula moved to Indian Bayou, LA in 2012 living next to their son, Andy. Levi spent the rest of his life there, gardening, raising chickens and cattle, and still hosting meals with family as often as possible.

As a story to display a glimpse of Levi’s character, during one summer, two young gentlemen selling encyclopedias to pay their way through college knocked on the door.  Levi answered the door and affirmed that he could not afford to buy an encyclopedia set for his family.  However, he noticed that the young men were short on funds so he invited them to stay for supper to eat Eula’s homemade fried chicken. After finishing their meal, he wished the gentleman well on their next upcoming encyclopedia sale as they were leaving. Even when having nothing to give, he would find some way to serve the well-being of others.

Levi liked hunting, fishing, and bowling and loved cooking, especially for his family. We will never forget his rice dressings, gumbos and special potato salad, or the many great times spent together catching fish (or not) and bowling strikes (or gutters). To him, the best Sunday would be barbecuing on the patio with French music playing. He would probably say that the best meal was one spent surrounded by family and eating his favorite food, a delicious large bowl of gumbo using a big spoon.

After recurrent pneumonia infections, Levi was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in September. While we will miss him this Thanksgiving, and for the rest of eternity until we see him again in heaven, we are thankful to God that he did not suffer through a long and arduous battle with cancer. Instead, after taking a break from peeling shrimp while teaching his grandson, Matthew how to cook his favorite food, gumbo, Levi took a break and put his head down to rest for the final time. In our minds, this must have been some sort of divine intervention. He passed peacefully, cooking his favorite food for his family, doing exactly what he loved to do. We believe that the gumbo in heaven is somehow even better than the one he was cooking.

Levi is survived by his wife, Eula Mae Schexnider; his three children, Andy Schexnider and his wife, Cathy Hoffpauir Schexnider, Margaret Terry Schexnider and Kathleen S. Faulk and her husband, E. Dennis Faulk; seven grandchildren, Andre Schexnider and his wife, Megan Ashworth Schexnider, Aimee Schexnider Dupuy and her husband, Kyle Dupuy, Joshua Lemaire his wife, Carla Frederick Lemaire, Kegan Guidry and Andrew Guidry and his partner, Elizabeth Tyger, Matthew Faulk and Britt Faulk; and one great grandchild, Evangeline "Evie" Dupuy; and children and grandchildren of Elizabeth Tyger, Jaden Jones, Delaney Lester and Sara Jones , and his devoted Dachshund  Bijou.  Levi was an exemplary example of a great and committed husband, a loving and compassionate father, and a generous and caring grandfather.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Andre Schexnider and the former Elenia Touchet; as well as his nine older siblings, Sabry Schexnider, Savie Schexnider, and Odeleon Schexnider, Elevena Baudoin, Noamie Benoit, Ella Hebert, Ellia Fontenot, Ozite Meaux, and Jeanne Gaspard. We can only imagine his rejoice in heaven, seeing his parents again after more than 60 years and being with all of his siblings once again.

By itself, a brief obituary of the life of Levi is not enough to fully describe his charismatic, loving, strong and selfless personality as well as the greatness, kindness, and love which he shared with others throughout his time on the Earth. In our minds, he could generally be described as a self-sacrificing superhero, sometimes a lovingly stubborn mule, and always a genuinely wonderful individual who was always a joy to be with. When imagining an ideal model of a great person, we will forever think of Levi, always thinking of others before himself, a true Cajun in heart and soul. We will always love you Papop!

The family requests that visiting hours be observed at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Catholic Church, 910 N. Frederick Ave., on Friday, November 24, 2023 from 10:00 AM until the services at 2:00 PM with a rosary being prayed at 1:00 PM.