Continuation of tree (9th child of Joseph Vige Pitre/Marie Eliza Fontenot); all known surname descendants:
9 Austin Pitre b: 23 February 1918 Ville Platte, Evangeline, LA; d: 8 April 1981 Elton, Jefferson Davis, LA
+Joyce Vidrine b: 14 March 1923 Bayou Chicot, Evangeline, LA; m: 12 February 1940; d: 6 November 2003 Ville Platte, Evangeline, LA
10 Aurelie J. Pitre b: 14 September 1940 Ville Platte, Evangeline, LA; d: 3 October 1999 Beeville, Bee, TX
+Roselyn Smith m: August 1960 [Wallace/---]; d: Aft. October 1999
10 Harris Joseph Pitre b: Abt. 1941
+Mary Lucille Arnold m: 6 July 1963 St. Anthony of Padua, Crowley, LA [Hollis/---]
10 Albert J. Pitre b: Abt. 1944
+Frances Brown m: 28 November 1962 St. Anthony, Eunice, LA [Thomas/---]
10 Rena Marie Pitre d: Bef. November 2003
+Ali Reza Mesbah m: 12 July 1975 Elton, Jefferson Davis, LA [Mahmood/---]
10 Mary Alice Pitre
+Gaynor Martel
*2nd Wife of Austin Pitre:
+Marion Oge (Fontenot) b: 17 October 1915 Mamou, Evangeline, LA; m: 8 December 1949 Ville Platte, Evangeline, LA; d: 2 January 1998
*3rd Wife of Austin Pitre:
+Dorothy Ryder b: 12 April 1933 Eunice, St. Landry, LA; m: 16 September 1951; d: 14 March 2014 Kinder, Allen, LA
10 Austin Ray Pitre
+Donna ---
10 James Pitre
+Cheryl ---
Notes for Austin Pitre:
Census
- 1940 Evangeline, Louisiana: Austin Pitre 20 farmer, wife Joyce 17.
- 1950 Ville Platte, Evangeline, LA: Austin Pitre 32 auto mechanic/Attaway Mtrs, wife Marion O. 34, stepsons Joseph L. Fontenot 16, J. Kilren Fontenot 15, & James Fontenot 13. Also in Evangeline: Sons Aurile Pitre 9 & Harris Pitre 8 living with grandparents Horace J. Vidrine 47 farmer/farm, wife Amie 46; and Albert Pitre 5 living with remarried mother Joice 26 to Edward Fontenot 31 farming/farm.
Misc.: Online biographies of Austin:
- Austin Pitre was born February 23, 1918 in the town of Ville Plate, Louisiana. His parents were Joseph Vige Pitre and Marie Aliza Pitre. Austin’s father played the fiddle and needed an accordion player to make music with him at the house dances and the fais-do-dos. Austin received his first accordion as a birthday present at the age of six from his father. Austin’s father also built a practice fiddle for him from a cigar box. At the age of 12, Austin was playing the accordion and fiddle. He bought his first violin by selling flower and vegetable seeds. His creative musical mind brought him into the genius realm; a real master, leader and showman for Cajun music. He was the first to play the accordion standing up without a strap. He could play the accordion over his head, behind his back, and between his knees. By the age of 20, he had his own band named "Austin Pitre and the Evangeline Playboys," who were booked to play clubs within a fifty-mile radius. He recorded with J.D. Miller in Crowley, Louisiana, Big Mamou Records in care of Floyd’s Record Shop, Harry Oster through Arhollie Record Company, and Sonet Recording Company. He had a broadcast for four years on Opelousas radio station KSLO. He also had a program on Eunice’s KEUN. In the late 1960s to early 1970s, he played for the "Pete Ford Hour" on KLFY in Lafayette, Louisiana. In June of 1972, Mayor J.E. Sudduth to Lake Charles, Louisiana presented Austin with a special award for being the first Cajun band to perform in the city’s new Civic Center. In 1974 and 1976, Austin was a guest player at the America Folklife Music Festival in Washington, D.C. March of 1981 saw Austin on tour for three weeks to different parts of the United States. On April 8, 1981, Austin Pitre died at his home in Elton, Louisiana.
- Austin Pitre, accordionist, fiddler, singer and leader of the Evangeline Playboys, was known for his hard-edged, traditional sound and for bringing new life to great old songs. Pitre was born to sharecropper parents in Ville Platte in 1918. His parents were both musicians: his father was a fiddler and his mother played accordion. Despite their poverty, they bought Pitre his first accordion when he was six, and he was playing weekend dances with his father by the time he was 11. Pitre made his first fiddle from a cigar box and earned his first real fiddle by selling seeds from a catalogue. Pitre learned many old fiddle tunes such as Cher Joue Roses (which he later recorded) from his father and was also influenced by Leo Soileau and the great creole fiddler Douglas Bellard. His biggest influence on accordion was Amédéé Ardoin. Pitre earned a reputation not only for his musicianship but for his showmanship as well. With the strength gained from hard work, he was able to play the accordion standing up, without a shoulder strap for support. He would play the accordion behind his back, behind his head and between his legs. He was also an exacting bandleader who demanded perfection. By the late 1940's Pitre was a well-established musician. He played regularly at the Chinaball Club in Bristol and had a weekly radio program on KSLO in Opelousas. He made his first records, including his theme Evangeline Playboy Special, with the Evangeline Playboys for the Feature label in 1948. Later he recorded for the French Hits label, accompanied by fiddler Chuck Guillory and the Rhythmaires. Beginning in the 1950s he recorded many songs for Swallow Records. Among the first of these were Douglas Bellard's Les Flammes d'Enfer (released as Flumes Dans Faires) and Amédéé Ardoin's Opelousas Waltz, recorded with Harry LaFleur and the Louisiana Aces. Released as a single, these songs became hits, assuring Pitre's continued popularity in the dance halls and making him a prominent figure in the post-war revival of traditional cajun music. Like most Cajun musicians, he also kept a full-time day job to support his family, operating an auto repair shop on Highway 190 between Elton and Basile. Pitre recorded and performed into the 1970's. In 1973 and 1976 he played at the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife in Washington, D.C. In 1980 at the Louisiana Freedom Festival he was honored for his contribution to Cajun music. That year the Sonet label released an album of new recordings and Swallow released a collection of his old songs. Austin Pitre died on April 8, 1981.
Obituary: Daily World (Opelousas, LA), Thursday, 9 April 1981: Cajun musician Austin Pitre, 63, the composer of many popular Cajun songs, died suddenly in his home Wednesday. Pitre, who had been a popular Cajun musician and composer since the 1940's, was scheduled to go on a State Department tour of musicians to Africa this summer. He played the violin and the accordion and was the leader of a group, The Evangeline Playboys, which played all around Acadiana. He was well-known for his distinctive singing and playing style. Funeral services will be held at 4:30 p.m. today at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Eunice. Burial will be in the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Eunice. He is survived by his wife, the former Dorothy Ryder of Elton; five sons, A. J. of Bayou Vista, Harris J. of Patterson, Albert of Houma, Austin of Crowley and James of Elton; two daughters, Mrs. Rena Mesbah of Gretna and Mrs. Gaynor Martel of Eunice; three sisters, Mrs. Octavia Huval and Mrs. Agnes Ryder, both of Eunice, and Mrs. Olla Dupre of Opelousas. He is also survived by 16 grandchildren.
Tombstone inscription, Mount Calvary Cemetery, Eunice, LA: (photo of Austin holding accordion behind his head) Austin / Feb. 23, 1918 / Apr. 8, 1981 / May his soul rest in eternal peace / PITRE /
Notes for Joyce Vidrine:
Obituary: The Ville Platte Gazette (Ville Platte, LA), Sunday, 9 November 2003: Joyce Deville, March 14, 1923 - November 6, 2003: Mamou - Funeral services were held for Joyce Deville, 80, of Ville Platte, the former Joyce Vidrine, at Our Lady Queen of All Saints Catholic Church at 1 p.m., Saturday, November 8. Burial followed in the Tee Mamou Cemetery. A native of Bayou Chicot, Ms. Deville died at 11 p.m., Thursday, November 6, 2003, at Heritage Manor Nursing Home. She was a housewife. Survivors include five sons, Harris J. Pitre and his wife, Lucille, of Lafayette, Albert J. Pitre and his wife, Frances, of Abbeville, Terry W. Deville and his wife, Robin, of Dayton, Texas, and Fredrick Deville and his wife, Julie, of Mt. Belvie, and Carl S. Deville and his wife, Kim, of Liberty, Texas; five daughters, Barbara Deville Jones and her husband, Ben, and Janice Deville Hardy, and her husband, Charles, all of Grand Prairie, Patricia Deville Ramsey of Ville Platte, Linda Deville Stelly and her husband, Craig, of Church Point, and Shirley Ann; one step-son, Richard Deville; one step-daughter, Janel Deville; one brother, Dalvis Vidrine; 36 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a daughter, Rena Pitre and a son, A. J. Pitre. Fr. Randy Moreau officiated. LaVille Funeral Home in Ville Platte was in charge of arrangements.
Notes for Dorothy Ryder:
Obituary: The Eunice News (Eunice, LA), 19 March 2014: Kinder - Dorothy R. Pitre, 80, passed away Friday, March 14, 2014 at her home in Kinder. She was born in Eunice and has been a resident of Kinder for 8 years. Dorothy was a member of Cajun Music Assn., DJ for KEUN for many years, Founder of Young Cajun Musicians, named Cajun of the year from CMA, was Grand Marshall of Home Coming Parade of Elton. She worked at Cajun Music Hall of Fame, Train Depot, and was on Jean Lafayette Cooking Shows. Survivors include her children, James Pitre and wife Cheryl of Kinder, Rena Mary Pitre and friend Janet Lenderman of Opelousas, Alice Pitre of Lake Charles, Harris Pitre and wife Lucille of Baton Rouge, Albert Pitre and wife Frances of Abbeville, Austin Ray Pitre and wife Donna of Milton; daughter-in-law, Rose Zachery and husband John of Lafayette; 24 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren. Preceded in death by her husband, Austin Pitre; son, Aurelie J. Pitre Sr.; brothers, Patrick, Herline, and Terry Rider, Maxille Savoy, Jr., sister, Debra Richard of Eunice. Mass of Christian burial was held Monday, March 17, 2014 at 1PM at St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church. Burial was in Mt. Calvary Cemetery.
Obituaries for the children:
Aurelie Pitre: Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA), Wednesday, 6 October 1999: Pitre, Aurelie "A.J.", Sr., 59 years old, passed away on Sunday, October 3, 1999, in Beeville, Texas. He was born in Ville Platte, Louisiana on September 14, 1940 to Austin Pitre and Joyce Vidrine Pitre. He was employed with Paragon Engineering Services as an offshore construction manager. He was a resident of Rockport for the past year and a previous resident of Houston where he was a patron member of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. He was also a member of the Houston Zoological Society, the West Side Tennis Club and the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society "Bass Masters." He is survived by his lifelong friend and loving wife of 39 years, Rose Pitre. His daughter and son-in-law, Peggy and Kiki Vandeweghe of Los Angeles, CA. His son and daughter-in-law, A. J. Pitre, Jr. and Christy, granddaughter, Hannah Pitre and one grandchild on the way of Patterson, LA., his son, Andrew J. Pitre of Los Angeles, CA, his mother, Joyce De Ville of Ville Platte, LA, his brothers, Harris Joseph Pitre and wife, Lucille, of Lafayette, LA and Albert J. Pitre and wife, Frances, of Portland, TX. He also had an extended step-family of five step-brothers and six step-sisters. Viewing was held at 3 p.m., Monday, October 4, 1999, at Charlie Marshall Funeral Home Chapel in Rockport, Texas. Funeral Services were held at 6 p.m., Monday October 4, 1999, at Charlie Marshall Funeral Home Chapel in Rockport, Texas. Interment will be private.
Back one generation to parents of Austin Pitre
Items in RED verified from transcriptions in the following:
- Southwest Louisiana Records: Church and Civil Records of Parishes of Acadia, Allen Beauregard, Cameron, Calcasieu,
Evangeline, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, St Landry, St Martin, St Mary and Vermillion.
Some Louisiana deaths in RED taken from obituaries or the Louisiana Deaths collection (which includes spouses/parents).
Last updated: 13 October 2022.