Funeral services will be held on Monday, October 20, 2014, at a 10:00 AM Mass of Christian Burial in Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Scott, for Claude Sonnier, age 96, who died on Friday, October 17, 2014, at his residence in Scott.

Interment will be in Sts. Peter & Paul Cemetery.

Reverend Thomas Voorhies, Pastor of Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, will be the Celebrant of the Funeral Mass and will conduct the funeral services. Lector will be Jeanne Sonnier. Giftbearers will be Lou Guilbeaux and Dolores Menard. Karen Broussard will perform the musical selections.

Survivors include 2 sisters, Clothilde Sonnier Hills and Annette Sonnier; 2 step sons, Mike Miller and his wife Sheri, and David Miller and his wife Jackie; their children, their grandchildren, and their great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his spouse, Elizabeth "Libby" Sonnier; his parents, Jean Batiste Sonnier and Aline Legere Sonnier; 4 brothers, Joseph, Ulysses, Leon "Doc" and Johnny Sonnier; 7 sisters, Bertha, Agnes, Louise and Eva Sonnier, and Iris Boudreaux, Anna Arceneaux, and Mathilde Broussard.

Claude was a native of the Ossun Community until 1940 and a resident of Scott since 1978. He graduated from SLI (now ULL) in 1940 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He served in the United States Army from March 1941 - 1945, during WWII. Prior to his retirement in July 1978, he worked for Humble Oil Company, now Exxon Mobil for 32 years as a Geophysicist. His work took him all over the United States and to many foreign countries. For many years he suffered with two badly worn knees that he wore out while doing seismic work walking the Florida Everglades. Claude was part of the seismic crew that initially discovered oil in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

His hobbies included gardening and repairing electrical appliances. The food he prepared was enjoyed by many, from BBQ to boiled crabs, to shucking raw oysters. He helped to rewire old homes and it has been said that Claude pulled enough wire to stretch from Scott to Houston and back. Claude looked forward to his weekend telephone conversations with Mike Miller, Lincoln Arceneaux, Bill Mahn, Joyce Richard, Louis Benoit to name a few of the many friends he enjoyed visiting with. He was staunch conservative, a WWII veteran and a true American Patriot.

Pallbearers will be Mike Miller, David Miller, Todd Miller, Doug Sonnier, Douglas "T-Doug" Sonnier, Jr., Russell Arceneaux and Rusty Pettijean.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Austin Trahan, Jr. Leger, Charles Frederick, Lincoln Arceneaux, Donald Pettijean and Buddy Etheredge.

Published online by Martin & Castille Funeral Home, Scott, Louisiana on October 18, 2014.