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Photos provided by the deGravelles family.
Pete deGravelles’ legacy is deeply intertwined with agriculture, community service and leadership. Throughout his life, deGravelles had a strong commitment to nurturing future leaders, not only in the agricultural sector but for all organizations in which he was involved.
Two of his daughters, Renée DeMoss and Diane Trull, are honoring their late father by establishing the Pete deGravelles Ag Leadership Endowment to support the LSU AgCenter’s Ag Leadership Development Program.
“Leadership was extremely important to him. He believed in developing leaders,” DeMoss said.
Regarding his passion for leadership, the sisters said they view their father’s life in three phases — his time farming, his time leading the American Sugar Cane League and his retirement.
DeGravelles was first a sugarcane farmer. He farmed with his father, Percy deGravelles, in Franklin, growing his father’s farm from 120 to 5,000 acres as his involvement in the sugarcane industry also grew. During this time, he was heavily involved as a volunteer for the American Sugar Cane League, lobbying at a state and federal level.
After a successful farming career, he sold his farming operation to several employees upon his retirement.
In 1988, deGravelles was elected president of the American Sugar Cane League and served as the general manager of the league until his retirement in 1993. At that time, Louisiana Sen. J. Bennett Johnston read a proclamation on the floor of the U.S. Senate recognizing deGravelles’ achievements.
“Those who know Pete have deep respect for his thorough knowledge of the intricacies of sugar production and processing,” the proclamation declared. “Pete’s hand has been at the helm during some of the most difficult debates on our national sweetener policies, but his leadership and foresight have helped us develop the strong program we now have.”
Like the proclamation, DeMoss listed off a multitude of her dad’s accomplishments. He served as president and member of the board of directors of the St. Mary Sugar Co-Op, he was selected as the Man of the Year in Service to Louisiana Agriculture by Progressive Farmer magazine in 1978. He was president of the Louisiana division of the American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists. He served as director of the First Commercial Bank of Franklin, on the advisory council to the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta and for two years as a member of the Business Advisory Council to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
He also was King Sucrose XXXV of the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival in 1976.
In 2000, he was inducted into the LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction, being the first person who had not graduated from LSU to receive that honor.
“Dad had gone to LSU, but when World War II broke out, he was called back home to farm,” Trull said.
Upon his retirement from the American Sugar Cane League, deGravelles and his wife, Jane, moved to Lafayette where he remained active in the community. He served on the board of directors of the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, International Trade Development Group of Le Centre International de Lafayette, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Foundation Board, board of trustees of the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority, The Shadows on the Teche and the Acadiana Arts Council Board. He served as a board member of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, serving as chairman of the board in 2000. He was also active in the American Diabetes Association.
The sisters’ donation will help keep their father’s legacy in agriculture alive.
“He is still impacting agriculture in Louisiana by being the impetus for the Ag leadership program,” DeMoss said.
Bobby Soileau, director of the LSU AgCenter Ag Leadership Development Program said the gift will help support the participants of the program in the future.
“It honors the enormous contribution of Mr. Pete deGravelles Jr.,” Soileau said. “He was a leader who saw a need to establish this program. We are grateful his family has continued that tradition with their generous contributions to help sustain ag leadership.”
The sisters are proud of all their father’s accomplishments. “He was a great dad. We are still all very influenced by him, even though he's been deceased for 18 years. We talk about him often and what a blessing it was to be his daughters,” Trull said.
DeMoss and Trull have three other sisters. “He was our king, and we were his princesses,” DeMoss said of her dad.
Pete deGravelles, left, on the farm with his father, Percy deGravelles, in Franklin.
The deGravelles family celebrate Pete’s induction in the LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction in 2000. Pictured are Diane Trull, Renée DeMoss, Carol Williams, Pete deGravelles, Jane deGravelles, Roane Risher and Judith Boutte.
Pete deGravelles at his retirement party pictured with his daughters and his assistant at the American Sugarcane League.
