Charles Fuselier
Charles Auguste Fuselier, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Sheriff of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana | |
| In office 1980–2003 | |
| Preceded by | Allan B. Durand |
| Succeeded by | Ronald J. Theriot |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 28, 1942 St. Martinville St. Martin Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Died | March 27, 2016 (aged 73) La Grange, Fayette County, Texas |
| Resting place | Epiphany Columbarium in New Iberia, Louisiana |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democrat / later Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Lyndahl Hobgood Fuselier (born 1943) |
| Children | Charles A. Fuselier, Jr. Rebecca F. Smith |
| Residence | St. Martinville, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | St. Martinville Senior High School University of Louisiana at Lafayette |
| Occupation | Law-enforcement officer |
For the Louisiana Cajun musician, see J. B. Fuselier.
Charles Auguste Fuselier, Sr. (December 28, 1942 – March 27, 2016), was from 1980 to 2003 the sheriff of St. Martin Parish in South Louisiana. Known for innovations in his office, Fuselier resigned prior to the nonpartisan blanket primary in 2003 for what would have been his seventh term.
Fuselier's father, Charles J. Fuselier, was the sheriff prior to 1978, when he died in office. Fuselier was elected sheriff in 1979 and took office in the summer of 1980, after the two-year interim period of Sheriff Allan B. Durand (1919–2006). Durand had been chief deputy under the first Sheriff Fuselier and continued thereafter as first deputy under Charles A. Fuselier until Durand's retirement."Life Legacy: Allan B. Durand". pellerinfuneralhome.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2013. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help) He was reelected in 1983 with more than 86 percent of the ballots cast."Results for Election Date: 10/22/1983: St. Martin Parish". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2013. In his last contested re-election in 1995, Fuselier polled more than 65 percent of the vote over three opponents."Results for Election Date: 10/21/1995: St. Martin Parish". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2013. He was succeeded by Ronald J. "Ronny" Theriot (born 1946), an Independent and former major with the Louisiana State Police, who assumed the office on October 16, 2003."Results for Election Date: 10/4/2003: St. Martin Parish". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2013."About Us: Sheriff Ronald J. Theriot". stmartinsheriff.org. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
In 1983, Fuselier oversaw the completion of a new jail; in 1990, the installation of a parish-wide 911 system; in 1991, the creation of a sheriff's substation, and in 1995, the construction of a facility for juveniles. In 1996, he received the National Sheriff of the Year award, an honor for which he expressed "shock". Then U.S. Representative Jimmy Hayes of Louisiana's 7th congressional district, since disbanded, honored Fuselier in a speech delivered on the floor of Congress. In his address, Hayes noted that Fuselier initiated a local partnership between the sheriff's office, the St. Martinville chief of police, and the American Association of Retired Persons to create the first TRIAD program in St. Martin Parish, which works to prevent crimes against senior citizens."Honoring Sheriff Charles A. Fuselier, Sheriff of the Year". capitolwords.org. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2013. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help) In 1999, the St. Martin Parish sheriff's office under Fuselier became the first in Louisiana to receive the imprint of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies."A Concurrent Resolution" (PDF). lanewsbureau.com. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
He was named "Sheriff of the Year" in Louisiana by the Farm Bureau Federation. He was a past president of the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association and a former board member of the National Sheriffs' Association. For thirty years, he was a member of the board of directors of Teche Bank."Charles Fuselier obituary". Lafayette Daily Advertiser. March 30, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
Though Fuselier's political career occurred while he was a Democrat, the office of Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler lists Fuselier and his wife, the former Lyndahl Hobgood (born June 1943), as Republican voters, as of December 2013."Click By Voter: Charles Fuselier, December 1942; Click Lyndahl Fuselier, June 1943)". voterportal.sos.la.gov. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2013. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
As a student from 1953 to 1959 at St. Martinville Senior High School, an entity of the St. Martin Parish School Board, Fuselier was active in 4-H. Thereafter, as sheriff he was heavily involved in the promotion of 4-H programs. In 1981, he established the Charles Fuselier Livestock Award, named for his father, and the subsequent Charles Fuselier Scholarship in 2002. In 2008, he was inducted into the 4-H Hall of Fame, housed in a museum in Avoyelles Parish south of Alexandria."Hall of Fame listing". Louisianapoliticalmuseum.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019. Fuselier graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he lettered for four years on the Ragin' Cajuns football team."Charles Fuselier obituary". Lafayette Daily Advertiser. March 30, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
In 2003, Fuselier was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield. As of 2014, only four other sheriffs have received this designation, Cat Doucet, Leonard R. "Pop" Hataway, Harry Lee, and Jessel Ourso."Hall of Fame listing". Louisianapoliticalmuseum.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
Fuselier died at the age of seventy-three at St. Mark's Medical Center in La Grange, Texas. His services were held at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in New Iberia, Louisiana.
| Preceded by Allan B. Durand |
Sheriff of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana
Charles Auguste Fuselier, Sr. |
Succeeded by Ronald J. Theriot |
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