Mr. Ceasar James Veazie Jr.

Ceasar James “CJ” Veazie, Jr. (July 24, 1932 – August 12, 2024) Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, August 17, 2024 at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Opelousas, LA, for Mr. Ceasar James “CJ” Veazie, Jr., 92, who entered eternal rest, Monday, August 12, 2024 at Opelousas General Health System. Visiting hours will be observed from 7:00 AM to 10:45 AM Saturday, August 17, 2024 at Williams Funeral Home in Opelousas, LA. Interment will be in Bellevue Memorial Park. Father Edwan “Manie” Manuel, S.V.D. will officiate at the Mass of Christian burial. Ceasar James Veazie, Jr. was born in Opelousas, Louisiana on July 24, 1932, during the Great Depression. He was the youngest of the five children of Ceasar Veazie, Sr, a sharecropper, and Lillie Batiste, his wife. Ceasar, Jr., or “CJ” as he was known, grew up poor, working crops and living in a small house on a road known as “the Dirt Lane”. By the time CJ reached the age of seven, he would lose his mother to a sudden lightning strike in a thunderstorm. That loss compounded the austerity of his early years. As CJ often recalled, the common poverty of his area connected his community in the Greenwoods area of Opelousas. Neighbors helped each other and CJ would frequently benefit from the kindness of neighbors, oftentimes in the form of a warm biscuit on his walk to school in the morning. The community gave of its want; no one had abundance. He loved his supportive community and vowed to repay it for its loving and generous spirit. But as happens, hard times and humble beginnings often forge a strong determination to not only survive, but to thrive. And so it was with Ceasar James Veazie, Jr. CJ was raised to believe in hard work. By the time he was in the eighth or ninth grade, he was working at service stations changing truck tires. Going to school while working was difficult. But he was motivated. While in high school, he started receiving letters from Georgia, an older sister who was an Army veteran in the Women’s Army Corps. She had gone on to college. Georgia wrote about the opportunities that the military and education offered. Believing in Georgia’s promise of a better life, CJ would soon quit school and later join the United States Army. On August 18, 1950, CJ took a bus to the Army recruiting station in Alexandria, LA. He pledged the Army oath and took his first out-of-state trip to Kansas. Shortly after completing basic training at Fort Riley, he was shipped abroad. America was at war. Communism was moving south on the Korean Peninsula. A full third of the world’s population was living under communism and the number was growing. America had issued the Truman Doctrine and promised to contain communism’s spread. The Korean War was one of the first “hot” wars of the Cold War and many American soldiers were sent to Asia. Korea was a feared hot spot, and CJ recalled that many of his friends were sent there. Instead, he was sent to a volatile and divided post-WWII Germany to guard against the growth of communism in Europe. His two years in Germany were pivotal for CJ. He saw a different part of the world that he had only read about. He worked in waist-deep “real” snow, not like the occasional dusting he had seen at home. He learned military discipline but also learned a trade as a linesman, climbing poles and installing electrical and telephone lines to help rebuild the region. He loved to work with his hands but was also drawn to the possibility of having a career in the educational arena – an area of promise for African Americans at the time. But he knew there could be no college without a high school degree, so he worked diligently and earned his G.E.D. After an honorable discharge, CJ took advantage of the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act (the G.I. Bill). With a love for the trades as well as an attraction for teaching, he earned a degree in Industrial Education from Alabama A&M University, where he pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He also received a graduate degree in Counseling from Atlanta University. He went on to earn additional graduate credits from Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge. CJ loved his time in Huntsville and Atlanta. He also loved Baton Rouge. But he remembered the kindness and kinships of Opelousas which only strengthened his bond to return. He moved back home, eventually winding up in the very community where he was born; the place that “had his back” as a child. He was back in Opelousas. Back in Greenwoods. And back on the “Dirt Lane”. His love for his community was that strong. A NEW CAREER AND A LUCKY CATCH One of Ceasar’s first assignments was in 1957 as a teacher at Carter G. Woodson High School in Lawtell, LA. He loved to teach and counsel. He saw it as a dream job. And he saw a future in it; education was a common path for African Americans to enter the middle class. As much as he loved teaching, the schools in Lawtell provided an additional benefit for CJ. The elementary school employed a beautiful and striking young teacher named Doretha Bellard. The two met, and dated. He liked to say, “I put that attention on her!” After only a few months, of “attention”, they were engaged and married. Together, the couple had five children, duplicating the girl-boy-boy-girl-boy sequence CJ shared with his own siblings, an accomplishment CJ humorously called “SKILL”. The couple would remain married for 64 years until Ceasar’s passing. EDUCATION AS AN OBSESSION CJ Veazie continued to teach, gifting to students the knowledge that they would need to succeed. In 1967, he accepted a new position as a Guidance Counselor at Lawtell High school. The school had an enrollment of 570 students and he got to personally know many of them. He was very involved in their counseling, testing and career choices. He found the assignment to be fulfilling and the students quickly recognized his sincere interest in their futures. There was such a mutual respect that many students stayed in touch with him after they graduated. It was common to have former students invite him on hunting and fishing outings, which he enjoyed immensely. In 1969, schools in St. Landry were ordered to desegregate. As a result, some grudging changes occurred. In 1970, CJ. was named principal of Southwest Elementary School, a clean campus with 710 students. A principal assignment at last was CJ’s and he handled it with care. To date, it was his crowning achievement and he had the autonomy to lead the institution as he judged appropriate. He led the school well, lived only a half mile away and immersed himself in the community. He knew the students. He knew their parents. Since it was a true community school, he often walked to homes to meet with parents, where he praised the good students and offered guidance and encouragement to those who needed it. In 1981, CJ was named Director of TH Harris Vocational-Technical School, a parish-wide school with a large student body and a multi-million dollar budget. In this position, he had thousands of students and course offerings from accounting to welding. It was the capstone of his educational career. After CJ retired from education, he accepted a Regional Manager position for the new Louisiana Lottery Corporation. He held the position for years before ultimately retiring (again). HARD WORKING AND FEARLESSLY FAITHFUL CJ’s career was varied, prolific and positive. Over his working life, he would hold many paid titles. In 1984, he took on what he called his volunteer work. He ran for the City Council and won election. He would be named Mayor Pro-Tempore. Public service was in his blood. After still another retirement, he became a licensed Certified Substance Abuse Counselor, a job that satisfied his perpetual desire to improve his community. Looking back on his work experience, he would often laugh hard and say, “not bad for a high school dropout.” No, CJ. Not bad at all. CHALLENGES AND FAITH Not all of CJ’s ventures were successful. He got licensed in real estate and insurance. But he found real estate selling was not to his liking. Insurance sales were likewise not his bailiwick. He also tried to start a black FM radio station at a time when there were none in the area. He tried his hand in the savings & loan business, at one time being on an S&L board of directors. None of these ventures took root. In fact, some were outright failures. But none stole his courage or his faith. CJ believed that faith was more powerful than failure. He had already endured the most heart-crushing loss of all – the death of his firstborn child, Judith Martina Veazie, his beloved “Ju-Ju”, who was diagnosed with cancer. For months, he knelt bedside and prayed for her recovery and cure. Sadly, neither would come. In May of 1977, Judith died. Judith’s death broke CJ’s heart but his faith would remain intact. His faith in God was evidenced in his devotion to worshipping, prayer and church-related service. He served as a Holy Ghost Church usher until physically unable. He was also an active member of the Knights of Peter Claver. Nothing could kill his faith. Nothing could stop his service. CJ credited his faith to his wife Doretha, whose exemplary and Godly conviction led him to be closer to Christ. Through her, he learned that prayer nourishes faith. Like her, he prayed unceasingly. CJ prayed until the end. While he aged, he was grateful during his good days and graceful during his bad days. Ceasar James “CJ” Veazie, Jr. was preceded in death by his parents, Ceasar Veazie, Sr. and Lillie Batiste; sisters, Willie Mae Veazie and Georgia Veazie McCloud; brothers, Leon Veazie and Leo Veazie; a beloved daughter, Judith Martina Veazie and a daughter-in-law, Cheryl Thompson Veazie. He leaves behind to cherish his memories Doretha Bellard Veazie, his loving wife of 64 years; four children, Mark (Mary) Veazie, Malcolm Veazie, Joan (Lloyd) Hepburn and Michael (Robin) Veazie; 10 grandchildren: Mark Veazie, II., Jennifer Veazie, Lindsey Veazie, Sydney Veazie, Zachary Hepburn, Alexandra Hepburn, William Hepburn, Trever Veazie, Nicholas Veazie and Marley Veazie. In addition, CJ had many nieces, nephews, relatives and friends, all of whom he loved and cherished. The many students he taught and counseled number in the thousands. Share words of comfort with the family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.net Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Williams Funeral Home of Opelousas, 337-942-2037.

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Mr. Ceasar James Veazie Jr.

July 24, 1932 - August 12, 2024