A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, 2019, at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in New Iberia for Jerry E. Shea, Sr., 93, who passed away on Thursday, July 18, 2019, while on a family vacation in Florida. Interment will follow in the Holy Family Cemetery.
Rev. Keith Landry will be the Celebrant.
A gathering of family and friends will be Tuesday, from 3:00 pm until 9:00 pm, at Pellerin Funeral Home, in New Iberia. A rosary will be prayed at 7:00 pm Tuesday. Visitation will continue on Wednesday from 8:00 am until 10:15 am.
Jerry was born in 1926 in Shreveport and grew up in Gladewater, TX. He moved to New Iberia in 1942 at the age of 16 when his father, Edward Stewart Shea Sr., began a one-man welding operation called Bayou Welding Works. Jerry attended St. Peter's College in New Iberia for his senior year of high school, playing trumpet in the band. After graduating, he briefly attended Southwestern Louisiana Institute before entering the Air Force for three years. He received his bachelor's in Petroleum Engineering from LSU in 1949. He went straight to work for Bayou, along with his late brother Edward Stewart “Buddy” Shea Jr. The two brothers went on to start several offshoot enterprises, including Bayou Pipe Coating in 1971. Jerry was inducted into the National Association of Pipe Coating Applicators Hall of Fame in 1996 and retired from Bayou in 2000 after providing 55 years of leadership in the family business.
He married Harriet Babineaux Shea on Aug. 21, 1949, and they went on to have six children, 21 grandchildren and 33 great-grandchildren. To say that Jerry, who was often referred to as the “unofficial mayor of New Iberia” was involved in the community is an understatement. He most recently served as Grand Marshall of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in March, honoring his Irish heritage, and is a former king of Andalusia. He also served as chairman of the board of New Iberia National Bank during the 1980s. He and Harriet received the “Distinguished Citizen Award” from the Boy Scouts Evangeline Area Council in 2001 and were named “Couple of the Year” by the Community Foundation of Acadiana in 2013. They also founded a scholarship at Catholic High School that is now in its third year, and Jerry ballroom danced his way to “winner” of Dancing With the Stars for Catholic High in 2013.
Jerry was a devoted LSU fan and also loved gardening, coin collecting, family history, storytelling, going to the post office and having lunch with his “Lunch Bunch” group of friends. He made every person he met, even strangers, feel important and special. He had plans to make it to 100 years old so that he could receive a card from the president, but his family was blessed to have him for 93 years.
He is survived by his loving spouse of 69 years Harriet Babineaux Shea and five children: Jerry Shea Jr. and wife Beverly; Mary Shea Zaunbrecher and husband Russell; James Shea and wife Virginia; Kelly Shea Holleman and husband James; Ellen Shea Mullen and husband Greg; and Beth LaSalle Shea, widow of Steven Shea Sr.
He was preceded in death by his parents Edward Stewart Shea Sr. and Esther Reeves Shea; brother Edward Stewart “Buddy” Shea Jr.; son Steven Shea Sr.; granddaughter Allison Shea; and great-grandchildren Andrew and Katherine Shea.
Pallbearers will be his grandsons Charlie Shea, Lindley Holleman, Andrew Holleman, Jerry Mullen, Will Mullen, Griff Shea, Patrick Shea, Steven Shea, Nick Zaunbrecher, Rick Zaunbrecher and Adam LaSalle. Honorary pallbearers will be his godsons David Broussard, Lucien Gastineau and Stewart Shea and grandson Zach LaSalle.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Jerry and Harriet Shea Catholic High Scholarship Fund, 1301 DeLaSalle Dr., New Iberia, LA 70560, or LSU Alumni Scholarship Fund, 3838 W. Lakeshore Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70808.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the doctors, nurses and the entire staff of Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast for their care and compassion.
Pellerin Funeral Home, 502 Jefferson Terrace Blvd, New Iberia, LA 70560, 337.365.3331, is in charge of the arrangements.
