Gersie Bienvenu

St. Martinville - Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m., on Saturday, January 8, 2011, at St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church in St. Martinville, for Gersie Barras Bienvenu, 68, who passed away on Monday, January 3, 2011 at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette. Interment will follow at St. Michael Cemetery. Msgr. J. Douglas Courville will officiate at the Funeral Mass. Scriptures will be read by Claudia Geoffroy and Harley Melancon. Gift Bearers will be Raini Harrison and Zack Bienvenu. Mrs. Bienvenu was a parishioner of St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church and was a member of the Beta Rho Sorority. Gersie had a passion for gardening and enjoyed working in her flowerbeds. She loved traveling, fishing, and going to the casino. She was always willing to help anyone in need - her compassion for others was genuine and she had a heart-of-gold. Gersie was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister and friend, whose greatest joy in life was spending time with her family. Survivors include her loving husband of 47 years, Rodney Bienvenu, Sr. of St. Martinville; one son, Rodney 'Ron' Bienvenu, Jr. and his wife, Elvira, of Cos Cob, CT; three daughters, Vickie Melancon and her husband, Craig, Melissa Stall and her husband, Don, all of St. Martinville, and Cindy Harrison and her husband, Ryan, of Diamondhead, MS; one brother, Perry Barras and his wife, Barbara, of St. Martinville; her brother-in-law, Wayne Bienvenu and his wife, Patsy, of St. Martinville; seven grandchildren, Tori Fredieu, Kate-lyn Bienvenu, Harley Melancon, Raini Harrison, Zack Bienvenu, Sultana Bienvenu, and Isabella Bienvenu; one great grandchild, Addyson Bienvenu, and one on-the-way. She was preceded in death by her parents, Leon and Elmay Savoy Barras; and a sister, Lou Ella Barras. The family requests that visiting hours be observed from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Friday and continue on Saturday at 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. A rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. on Friday. Pallbearers will be Neil Bienvenu, Coleman Bienvenu, Craig Melancon, Ryan Harrison, Mike Harrington, and Pat Theriot. Honorary pallbearers will be Alton Barras, Wayne Bienvenu, Tori Fredieu, Ryan Bonin, Ronald Geoffroy, and Don Stall. Pellerin Funeral Home of St. Martinville is in charge of arrangements. To view on-line obituary, sign guestbook and , go to www.pellerinfuneralhome.com