Tribute

Wally Paul DeRouen, Sr., was eccentric. He read Robinson Crusoe when he was young and always wanted to live on a deserted island. He enlisted in the Navy during the Korean War so that he could be on a ship – the Navy flew him to Japan. Although somewhat disappointed with his travel method, he enjoyed being a mineman stationed at the US Naval Supply Depot in Yokosuka. After his honorable discharge, he met and married Carol. Together they lived in Colorado and had 3 children: Sandra, Sharon & Paul. When that marriage ended, Wally returned to southern Louisiana, where he had been born and spent most of the rest of his life. He married Madeline and was stepfather to her 5 children: Tammy, Carla, Veronica, Todd & Charlotte. While he was growing up, Wally’s mother worked at the local Evangeline Theater. He spent many afternoons watching movies, newsreels, and cartoons in the historic theater. He spoke often of watching the New Iberia Firehouse Station #2 being built just down the street from where he lived. He was able to track his DeRouen lineage back 12 generations to Robert Drouin, born in 1607 in the French parish of Saint-Barthélemy. In 1634, Robert immigrated to Quebec, Canada. His ancestors are first recorded in Louisiana in 1775. Wally had different jobs throughout his life: Denver city bus driver and many different metal fabricator positions, such as for Timpte Trailers and for Coors Brewing Company (during their centennial in 1973). He was a welder by trade, but finally got to his “ship” at the end of his career when he became a shuttle boat captain, ferrying Oil Rig workers to and from shore in the Gulf of Mexico. He retired when he reached the age of 65. Wally spent the next 20 years ambling around his hometown of New Iberia – mostly riding his bicycle and making yearly treks to visit his children in Colorado and Idaho. He spent many hours tinkering with ideas, “inventions”, and expanding his garage shop to include many metalworking tools and instruments. Wally moved to live with his daughter in Colorado at the end of 2020. He spent the next 4 years doing his favorite things: watching old movies, watching TV westerns, taking long naps, and eating candy (M&M’s, specifically). At the end of 2024, COVID caught up to him, and he could no longer live without full-time care. Although he recovered from COVID, his health continued to deteriorate. Wally passed peacefully in his sleep on May 28, 2025. He was 90. He is survived by his first wife, Carol; his 3 children and 4 of his 5 stepchildren. Many thanks to his caregivers, social workers, and CRNs through the Veterans Administration, caregivers and staff at Silver Heights Nursing Home, and the hospice workers from Gentiva Health Services. Wally often expressed his desire to donate his body to science. Thanks to Science Care, he has been able to do that. Please treat him well. One of his caregivers affectionately referred to him as now in “Pirate Paradise”. Of course, she is correct.

Friends & Family