Douglas A. “Buddy” Moody, Sr.
LAFAYETTE – A Mass of Christian Burial and Celebration of Life will be held Friday, June 2, 2023, at 2:00 PM in St. Mary Mother of the Church Catholic Church for Douglas A. “Buddy” Moody Sr., age 95, who passed peacefully at home, surrounded by his family members, on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Reverend Cedric Sonnier, Pastor of St. Mary Mother of the Church Catholic Church in Lafayette, will officiate the services, and Reverend Kenneth Domingue, Pastor of St. John Berchmans Catholic Church in Cankton, will be the Homilist and con-celebrate the Funeral Mass. Lectors will be Rosalind Moody Robertson and Douglas Moody II; giftbearers will be Buddy’s Granddaughters. Interment will immediately follow the mass in Calvary Cemetery.
Survivors include his beloved wife of 64 years, Claire Boriskie Moody of Lafayette; his daughter, Mary Margaret Moody Domingue (and Son-In-Law, Hille Domingue) of Lafayette; two sons, Douglas A. Moody II (and Son-In-Law Gregg Pavlak) of Asheville, NC; and Philip John Moody (and Daughter-In-Law Cindy Sauls Moody) of Baton Rouge; his beloved brother, Braxton I. Moody III of Crowley; eight treasured grandchildren, Mallory Chastant Rodrigue (and Jacques Rodrigue) of New Orleans; Paul Thomas Chastant III (and Lillie Joyce Chastant) of New Orleans; Natalie Domingue Folse (and Andrew Folse) of New Orleans; Christopher Domingue (and Amelie Greco Domingue) of Houston, TX; and Benjamin Domingue of Houston, Tx; Phillip John Moody II (and Rachel Falgout Moody) of Baton Rouge; Anna Catherine Moody of Grayton Beach, FL; and Amelia Grace Moody of Baton Rouge; four great grandchildren (Ruthie Chastant, Roman Rodrigue, “Tripp” Moody, and Adeline Domingue); and his nineteen beloved nieces and nephews including his beloved Godchild, Rosalind Moody Robertson, who with her husband Sam Robertson, have been treasured family members and neighbors since 1987.
Mr. Moody was preceded in death by his father, Braxton Isham Moody Jr. of Iota, LA and Auburn, AL; his mother, Mabel Amy Moody of Iota, Rayne, and Lafayette; his brother, Charles Armstrong Moody of Lafayette; and his sister, Ann Bievenue Richard of Rayne, LA.
Buddy was a life-long native and avid hunter of southwestern Louisiana. He was born in Eunice on September 21, 1927, the second son of Braxton I. Moody Jr. and Mabel Amy Moody. His early family years were lived in Iota where his father suffered an untimely death when he was eight years old, leaving his mother a widow with three young boys during The Great Depression. His family eventually moved to Rayne where Buddy grew-up and played six-man football on the Rayne High Wolves Louisiana State High School Championship team in 1944. Later that same year, Buddy joined the US Navy at the height of World War II, training in Boot Camp at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, CA. In his love of story-telling with friends and family, Buddy often recounted that upon his graduation from Boot Camp and right before being deployed into combat in the Pacific Theatre in 1945, the Japanese surrendered because “they heard he was coming.” After “The War” ended, Buddy was Honorably Discharged from the Navy and returned to Lafayette. He worked in the oil and gas industry, “rough-necking” to pay for his college education while attending Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now the University of Louisiana Lafayette). He relished hunting with friends whenever he could find time to do so. He graduated from SLI in 1954 with a BS degree in Business Administration. He met his wife, Claire, in Lafayette in the Summer of 1957 and they were married in New Orleans in January 1959. Claire and Buddy chose Lafayette as “home” and raised their three children while he worked in the directional drilling sector of the oil and gas industry at Eastman. Buddy started his own directional drilling company in 1966, Directional Control, Inc., where he successfully managed and grew his business until retiring in 1985. Buddy never met a stranger and usually started conversations with “Where are you from?” If the response was “Acadia Parish,” he almost always sought a connection to the person’s family and especially cherished such friendships. Since his retirement, Buddy continued to actively pursue investment opportunities in the oil and gas industry with his lifetime friends and business colleagues. Buddy and Claire have been blessed with many years of enjoying time on their family farm in Branch, LA, hunting trips with grandchildren and nephews, family holidays at home, and vacations with their children and grandchildren.
Pallbearers will include Buddy’s sons, Douglas Moody II and Philip Moody, along with his grandsons, Paul Chastant III, Philip Moody II, Christopher Domingue, and Benjamin Domingue. Honorary Pallbearers include his brother, Braxton I. Moody III, Kevin Moody, Sam Robertson, Edward Moody II, Jack Larimer, Ted Graser, and Russell Richard. Buddy also cherished all of his nieces and nephews and loved them dearly.
The family requests that visitation be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church prior to his Celebration of Life and Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, June 2, 2023, from 12:30 PM until time of service, a Rosary will be recited at 1:00 PM, followed by the Mass at 2:00 PM. Interment with Military Honors will follow immediately afterwards at Calvary Cemetery.
The family would like to recognize and express deepest gratitude to Buddy’s medical team, especially Dr. Bradley Chastant, Sr. and Dr. Bradley Chastant, Jr., along with Dr. Roth, Dr. Edward Moody, II, Dr. Kenneth Champagne, and Hope Healthcare and Hospice with his nurses Michelle and Julie. The family would especially like to recognize the love and support from their special friends and Eucharistic Ministers, Kay and Russell Richard from St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and Buddy’s next-door neighbors, Angelle and Edward Marsh. Deepest gratitude to the tireless love, work, and assistance of Buddy’s caregivers at First Options Healthcare, Leading Healthcare, and especially Senior Helpers of Lafayette.
In honoring the values for business education Buddy instilled in his children and grandchildren, his pride in his brother and their shared alma matter, and in lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions in Buddy’s memory be made to the University of Louisiana Lafayette – the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration. Such contributions can be made online at https://give.louisiana.edu/academic-colleges/moody-college-business-admi... or by mail c/o The UL Foundation, P.O. Box 44290, Lafayette, LA 70504.
Words of condolence may be expressed online at www.mourning.com.
Martin & Castille Funeral Home - DOWNTOWN, 330 St. Landry Street Lafayette, Louisiana 70506, 337-234-2311