Obituary for Bonnie Blue Maillet "BB Maillet"

Bonnie Blue Maillet, age 81, passed away peacefully at her home on Thursday, January 15, 2026, surrounded by her loving family. Bonnie Blue was born on May 14, 1944, in Atlanta, Texas, and was so named as her mother’s maiden name was Blue. Bonnie spent much of her childhood in northeast Texas before moving to Marksville, Louisiana, to be with her mother and stepfather. There, as a young teenager, she met the love of her life, Keith Maillet. Bonnie loved to tell the story of how they met. They were introduced by Keith’s cousin at Marksville’s sesquicentennial celebration. When Keith asked if she wanted to walk around, she said, “Sure.” Years later she’d add, “and we’ve been walking around ever since.”

Bonnie was a local leader and global force in the oil service industry. While small in stature, Bonnie was larger than life in many ways. A true force of nature. In early adulthood she worked with legendary coaches Whitey Urban and Beryl Shipley in the athletic department at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette (then USL). As a trailblazer in the oil industry, Bonnie had a strong work ethic and fierce determination to succeed. Her career in the oil field extended from the 1970s into the early 2000s. She started out in oilfield sales and worked for several oil service companies in the Lafayette area before establishing her own business, Boysenblue/Celtec International, Inc., which sold drilling fluid additives. A woman-owned business in the oil industry was nearly unheard of at the time. Boysenblue was a successful enterprise that forged productive alliances domestically and world wide, from Venezuela to Nigeria, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. Bodyguards were necessary when Bonnie Blue made some of those trips. Near the end of her career, she worked with a Saudi Arabian businessman to successfully negotiate a major contract with Saudi-Aramco, the world’s largest oil company. Bonnie and Boysenblue received numerous awards and accolades for dedicated service and contributions to the local community.

Whip smart and quick witted, Bonnie Blue always had a clever, if not somewhat raw, expression at hand. She loved to say that although she was born in Texas, she was “Cajun by injection!” One day her guileless sister and a dear friend visiting from Texas questioned the legality of cock fighting after they spied a pen of roosters behind a grocery outside Lafayette. Bonnie replied in her best Cajun patois, “Oh baby, don’t you know, in Louisiana the law is for the tourists!?”

Bonnie Blue is preceded in death by her brother, Ken Michael Daniel, Sr.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 61 years, Gordon K. Maillet, Sr., her sister, Terry J. Moreau, of Houston, Texas, her two sons, Gordon K. Maillet, Jr., and Barry Maillet of Lafayette, her five cherished grandchildren, Simone, Collin, Lauren, Zachary and Paige, her five adored great-grandsons, Mark, Luke, Beau, Luca and Cade, along with numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Keith and the family would like to thank Bonnie’s many caregivers for their assistance in recent years. The family is deeply grateful to Mrs. Pat Briscoe for her decades of compassionate and dedicated service to Bonnie and Keith.

Arrangements are being made by Cypress Funeral Home & Crematory, 206 W. Lafayette, St., Maurice, LA, 70555. Visitation will be on Thursday, January 22, 2026, starting at 10:00 AM, a rosary will be prayed at 12:00 Noon, followed by a 1:00 PM Service.--