Allan Durand

St. Martinville - Funeral services will be held Monday, June 5, 2006 at 2 PM at St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church for Allan B. Durand, former Sheriff of St. Martin Parish,who died Saturday ?in Lafayette ?at age 87. A gathering of family and friends will be held at Pellerin Funeral Home in St. Martinville on Monday from 8 AM until service time. He was born in St. Martinville on March 27, 1919 to Albert L. Durand and Louisiana deBlanc. ?He graduated from Cathedral High School in Lafayette ?in 1936 and received his bachelors degree from Southwestern Louisiana Institute in 1940. Shortly after the beginning of World War II, he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, and was sent to the South Pacific as a shipping officer. ?While there he volunteered for PT boat duty and was assigned to a combat tour as the executive officer on the PT 150 in the Navy's famous PT Squadron 12 with, among others, Lt. John F. Kennedy. When Squadron 12 received the Presidential Unit Citation, the squadron selected Lt. ?Allan Durand to receive the medal on behalf of the squadron. ?After completion of his combat tour, he was rotated back to the states to teach naval tactics to Navy officer candidates at several colleges, including Northwestern University in Chicago and Amherst. He returned to St. Martinville after the war and worked in agriculture, eventually becoming the statewide representative for the Louisiana Rice Council. He began a 40 year career in the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's office in 1964, serving as Chief Deputy Sheriff until the untimely death of Sheriff Charles J. Fuselier in 1978. ?He then served as Sheriff of St. Martin Parish for 2 years, and resumed the position of Chief Deputy under Sheriff Charles A. Fuselier in 1980. ?He retired from the Sheriff's office in 2004. During his time in law enforcement, he was one of the co-founders of the Louisiana Sheriff's for Better Law Enforcement, and eventually was elected President of the organization. He also was a member of the Louisiana Sheriff's Association. He was elected to several terms as a member of the St.Martin Parish Democratic Executive Committee, and served as President of the St. Martin Parish Cattlemen's Association. An active member of the Lion's Club his entire adult life, he was elected as District Governor , and served as President of the St. Martinville Lion's Club. He was one of the first two recipients of ?the St. Martinville Outstanding Citizen Award, ?and was the Chairman of the Acadian Bicentennial Celebration in 1955. Allan B. Durand is survived by his wife, Rita Romero Durand, and by three sons, Allan L. Durand and Richard Durand of St. Martinville, and David Durand of Tulsa, along with five grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two brothers, Albert Durand and Gerard Durand, and four sisters: Stephanie (Mrs. Jacob S. Landry of New Iberia), Theresa (Mrs. John Patin of Lake Charles), Catherine (Mrs. Harris Champagne) and Mary Margaret (Mrs. Milton Andrepont). ?He is survived by a brother, Francis, and two sisters, Betty and Claire.