Published in Jennings Daily News October 14, 2026
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026 at 11 a.m. in Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Lake Arthur for Mr. Shirley Mary Guidry, 101, who passed away peacefully on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026 at the Southwest Louisiana Veterans Home in Jennings.
A visitation will be held at Matthews Funeral Home in Lake Arthur on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. A Rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Visiting hours will resume on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026 at 9 a.m. and continue until his services begin at 11 a.m. Rev. Jay Alexius will be officiating funeral and graveside services. Interment will take place in the St. Anthony Mausoleum with military honors.
Shirley was born in Rayne on Aug. 10, 1925 to Gaston and Eula Guidry and was the oldest of four children. He married Lou Irra Gautreaux on Feb. 12, 1950 and had three sons, Greg, Kenneth Wilbur and Richard Joseph.
The son of a sharecropper, Shirley was raised on a rice farm one mile east of Rayne. He started working at the age of six by picking cotton (his father’s crop) and by the age of 12, he was operating a horse drawn wagon carrying rice during the harvest. As he would say: “I know what work is.” In 1940, the family farm was destroyed by massive flooding in Southwest Louisiana and his family moved to the town of Rayne. At the age of 15, Shirley went to New Orleans on his own to seek employment opportunities and worked as a dish washer and eventually became a waiter at several restaurants.
In 1941, Shirley moved back to Rayne and learned the trade of welding at the National Youth Administration Camp. After WWII began, he began working as a welder at Consolidated Shipyard in Orange, Texas. He became certified as a Navy welder there, building troop transport ships. Even though he could have deferred serving overseas due to his position as a Navy welder, at the age of 18 and a half, he chose to serve his country and waived his deferment. He was assigned to the 244th Combat Engineers and began basic training at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Miss. in April 1944.
Shirley’s unit landed at Le Havre, France on Christmas Day 1944. Fluent in French from his Cajun upbringing, Shirley was able to communicate with the local French people during his unit’s movement through France. As a combat engineer, he was involved in laying anti-tank minefields, transport and guarding of munitions, building bridges, including a bailey bridge over the Rhine River and a pontoon bridge over the Elbe River, which was the last bridge of the war in Europe. He narrowly escaped death on three occasions.
Following the war, he returned home and eventually learned the trade of watch repair. In May 1954, he opened Guidry’s Watch Repair and Jewelry in Lake Arthur and served thousands of customers for 30 years. He retired in 1983. He was known throughout the area for his honesty and great customer service.
Shirley was a faithful servant of God and was an active member of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Lake Arthur for 69 years. He served as a Eucharistic Lay Minister for four decades and brought communion to the members of the community who were homebound or in nursing homes throughout the area. He was also an active member of the Lake Arthur Knights of Columbus for many years.
Shirley was active in the Catholic Cursillo Movement beginning in 1984. In 1986, he was one of several men who made a pilgrimage from Prairie Rhonde to Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City. With the written blessing of Pope John Paul II, the men carried an 80-pound cross a distance of over 1,200 miles over a period of three and a half months. According to Shirley, the men experienced numerous miracles during their journey. Beginning at the age of 79, he began walking in the annual Pentecost Walk from Lake Arthur to the Cursillo Center, a distance of approximately 60 miles. He made the walk for 17 years, well into his 90s.
Shirley was devoted to his family and was honored as Father of the Year by the Lake Arthur Knights of Columbus in 2012. He has also been honored for his devotion to his country. In April 2022, he was honored at the WWII Museum in New Orleans for his service as a French-Speaking Cajun WWII veteran. He is featured in the book “Frenchie – The Story of the French-Speaking Cajuns of World War II” by Jason Theriot. He served as Honorary Marshal of the Inaugural Veterans Day Parade in Lafayette in Nov. 2023. He is a member of the Circle of Distinction of the Les Guedry et Petipas de Asteur Family and has been inducted as a Living Legend of the Acadian Museum in Erath for his contribution to Cajun culture.
Shirley is survived by two sons, Greg (Jane) Guidry and Richard “Joe” (Necia) Guidry, Sr.; his grandchildren, Stephen (Claire) Guidry-White; Caroline (Jon) Armacost and their children, Samuel, Juliana, Maximus and William; Christopher (Danielle) Guidry and their children, James, Beau, and Molly; Richard Joseph Guidry, Jr.; Sophie Grace (Connor) Hixon; his step-grandchildren Cameron (Kelly) Dejean and their son, Callan; Griffen Dejean; Christopher (Franchesca) Horvath and their daughters, Annalyse and Sadie; Nicholas Horvath; Courtney Horvath and her sons, Samuel and Keene; and Gabriel Horvath.
Shirley is preceded in death by his loving wife, Lou; his son, Kenneth; his parents, Gaston and Eula; brothers, Harry and Gaston, Jr.; and sister, Jane.
Pallbearers will be Stephen Guidry, Christopher Guidry, Griffin Dejean, Seth Rodriguez, Joseph Rodriguez and Isaac Rodriguez. Honorary Pallbearers are Madelyn Rodriguez and Evelyn Rodriguez.
Shirley’s family would like to express their sincere appreciation to the caregivers at the Southwest Louisiana Veterans Home where Shirley resided for the last three and a half years. They would also like to thank Bart and Marianne Rodriguez and their family for loving Shirley as their own father and grandfather over the last several years.
In lieu of flowers, you are invited to donate to a charity of your choice in Shirley’s honor.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Matthews Funeral Home Lake Arthur, 317 Kellogg Street, Lake Arthur, LA 70542.
