USA Rice extends condolences to the family and friends of Catherine Soileau Sylvester who passed away on April 5, at the age of 65.
Born on July 18, 1960, in Ville Platte, Louisiana, Cathy will be remembered for her independent spirit coupled with a fierce sense of determination. She was an excellent academic and named valedictorian at both her high school and college. But her true calling was motherhood: Cathy and her husband, Jeffery, a rice farmer and active member of USA Rice, raised six children. Their home in Whiteville was her sanctuary where she welcomed everyone with her radiant smile and good conversation, always filled with words of kindness.
Her favorite activities were reading, doing the daily crossword puzzle, and her family’s annual beach trips. But more than anything, Cathy loved music and hosted many an impromptu dance party in her living room for her children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
“Cathy was the cornerstone to the Sylvester family,” said fellow rice farmer Richard Fontenot who is the current president of the Louisiana Farm Bureau. “Their family ties to agriculture and their faith brought them together and helped make a positive impact on all those around them. Cathy will be deeply missed.”
Anne and Thomas Soileau, with local business Progressive Tractor, will remember Cathy as a dear friend who was "kind, steady, and genuine, someone who made a lasting impression on everyone around her. She will be missed. We’re grateful for the years we knew her and are thinking of Jeffery and the entire Sylvester family during this difficult time."
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Central Time, on Wednesday April 8, at the Church of Resurrection Chapel in Whiteville with burial to follow in the church cemetery. Visitation will be held today in the LaVille Funeral Home Chapel from 4-9:00 p.m. with a rosary recited at 6:30 p.m., and will resume again tomorrow from 8-10:30 a.m.