Nona Marie Landry Lovell

ABBEVILLE-- Nona Marie Landry Lovell, a native of Abbeville and resident of Lafayette, died on January 19, 2021, of natural causes. She was 92.

She is survived by three daughters, Elizabeth Claire Repp and her husband Elbert of Maurice; Mary Leslie Brightwell and her husband Mark of Carthage, Texas; and Amy Marie Lovell of Iota; as well as six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

She will be especially missed by her grandchildren Christy Elizabeth Repp Kessler and husband William of Baton Rouge; Samuel Mark Brightwell and wife Rebecca of Lufkin, Texas; René Claire Repp Sonnier and husband Josh of Lafayette; Benjamin Paul Brightwell and wife Mallory of Austin, Texas; Rebecca Anne Repp DeLatin and husband Michael of Baton Rouge; and Matthew Elbert Repp of Baton Rouge; as well as her great-grandchildren William and Elizabeth Kessler, Savannah and Sawyer Brightwell, Perrine and Charles Sonnier, Henry and Lucy DeLatin.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Wallace “Bill” Wilmer Lovell, also a native of Abbeville; parents Maxie J. Landry and Paula Mouton Landry; sister Maxine Landry LeBlanc; and grandchildren Charles Elbert Repp and Samantha Elaine Repp all of Abbeville.

The family plans a private graveside service. Her remains will be interred alongside her late husband at St. Paul Cemetery in Abbeville.

Nona was born in 1928 and grew up in Abbeville during the Great Depression and WWII. As a teen, she participated in civilian defense drills as part of the war effort, marching and monitoring the skies for enemy aircraft. She graduated from Abbeville High School in 1945.

She attended Texas State College for Women before transferring to Southwestern Louisiana Institute to complete her degree in English education. During her college years she spent time in Washington, D.C. where she worked as a typist in J. Edgar Hoover’s Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In 1949, Nona married Bill Lovell and the couple settled in Abbeville. Nona taught school at Mt. Carmel and Erath High School. In 1971, the family moved to Houma where Nona taught at St. Bernadette School.

The Lovells moved to Lafayette in 1981. Nona always enjoyed the roses and flower beds meticulously tended by Bill, her dog Mimi, traveling, reading, playing solitaire, crossword puzzles and baking bread pudding with her grandchildren. Nona and Bill enjoyed regular game nights of Yatzee and cards with a group of close friends and neighbors. She was a member of the Ladies Altar Society and parishioner of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Lafayette. She volunteered with the VITA adult literacy program and with the Southwest Medical Center Pink Ladies.

In 1997, Nona and Bill moved back to Abbeville where she was a member of the Fortnightly Club of Abbeville, the Abbeville Bridge Club, and a neighborhood rosary group.

In her final years at The Blake at Lafayette, Nona received exceptional care by staff in the Memory Care Unit. There she participated in outings and activities and received visits from her great-grandchildren to the delight of her neighbors. The family thanks the staff of Right At Home for providing extra care during the COVID-19 pandemic while visitation was restricted. Additional care was provided by Southwind Nursing Home and Rehabilitation of Crowley and Lamm Hospice Services.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Nona’s memory may be made to the Vermilion Parish Library and the Mt. Carmel Educational Foundation.