Dan Michel, historical preservationist of Marksville, 74
Funeral services for historian and cultural preservationist Daniel Edmond Michel, will be held Saturday, August 19, 2017 at 10:00 in the Chapel of Hixson Brothers Funeral Home in Marksville with Rev. Rusty Rabalais.
Visitation will be Friday August 18, from 5pm to 9pm and beginning at 8am Saturday. A rosary will be recited at 6pm Friday.
Michel, 74, of Marksville, passed away at Avoyelles Hospital on Tuesday, August 15, 2017. He was born August 8, 1943. His parents were E. M. Michel and Sylvia Roy Michel. Services will be under the direction of Hixson Brothers Funeral Home of Marksville.
After finishing Marksville High he attended and graduated from LSU, Baton Rouge earning a B. S. degree in the College of agriculture with a major in Rural Sociology and minor in Horticulture. Following that he was a member of the Louisiana National Guard serving for six years earning the rank of Sergeant E-6.
In February 1966, he was employed by the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development. In May 1966, he was assigned to the Grenta USDA Office as A County Supervisor, he worked very closely with the Louisiana Oyster Growers Association and was successful in having the USDA recognize oyster growers as aquatic farmers. In October 1983, Dan was promoted and transferred to the Alexandria USDA office until his retirement in December of 1999 with 38 years of service.
Michel was an avid historic preservationist. He devoted his life to preserving the historic structures and promoting cultural events in his spare time, He was a stranger to no one he met. Many sought his advice and expertise in the field.
He was a fourth generation to live in his home, which he painstakingly updated and renovated to the look when it was built in 1872 by his great-grandfather, Alfred Bordelon. Michel graciously opened his home, Belle Oak, for numerous civic and cultural meetings and events over the years. The home is located on the National Register of Historic Places. He had just turned 74 years of age, and was appropriately surprised at his old home on his birthday just one week before death, surrounded by family and friends.
Michel was a member of numerous social and civic organizations both at the local and state level:
He was an founding and lifelong member of La Commission des Avoyelles historical organization of which he served two years as president and decades on the board. His guidance helped preserve many historical structures in Avoyelles such as the DesFosse home, the Hypolite Bordelon home, and the historic district sign project of Marksville,
Other local boards and memberships on which he volunteered time and service included: the Enemund Meullion Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Avoyelles Planning Commission, Friends of Fort DeRussy, the Friends of the Fox Theater, and the Marksville Chamber of Commerce.
In 1989 and 1999, he was on the Steering Committees for the 180th and 190th Marksville Birthday Celebrations. He established temporary museums representing the history of Marksville and had the honor to serve on the Court at the Grand Ball in 1999.
On the state level, he served on the Board of The Louisiana Landmarks society for 14 years and held position of Treasurer for years. He was a life member of The Louisiana Landmarks Society, in which he organized many fund raising tours of plantation homes along the Mississippi River. He was awarded by the Society with the prestigious Harnett Kane Award In 1986 for his work in historic preservation.
He also served on the board of the Louisiana Preservation Alliance for eight years. He was appointed by the Governor of the State of Louisiana to the State National Register Review Committee.
Michel is survived his brother, Dr. RIchard Michel of Marksville and his sister Sylvia Ella Michel Turnage of Brandon, Mississippi, and numerous nieces and nephews.
The Michel Family would like to thank the Doctors and Staff of Avoyelles Hospital, Kindred at Home Health, Acadian Ambulance, and the City of Marksville Fire Department. The Family would extend a special thanks to Darrell Sampson, Glen Batiste, Debra Fredieu , Brenda Dufour, Dillion Mayeux, and David Skoug.
The family requests donations be made to St. Judes Children's Research Hospital in Memphis Tennessee and the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans.