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- LSU College of Agriculture scholarship honor late Pointe Coupee county agent
Louis Curet, pictured with his daughter Jeanne Curet James, has established a scholarship in the LSU College of Agriculture honoring his late father, A.B. Curet, who was a county agent in Pointe Coupee Parish.
(04/08/16) BATON ROUGE, La – Louis Curet, a retired Baton Rouge attorney, is honoring his late father, A.B. Curet, by establishing an endowed scholarship in the LSU College of Agriculture in his name.
The elder Curet was the LSU AgCenter county agent in Pointe Coupee Parish for 40 years. The A.B. Curet Scholarship for Agriculture will benefit students studying agricultural education – a degree suited for someone hoping to work as an agricultural or 4-H agent.
Curet said his father started his career in 1916 after graduating from Mississippi State University.
“The county agent was a big deal in those days,” Curet said. He said there was no veterinarian in the rural parish, so his father was responsible for vaccinating many of the animals in the area.
There also was no electricity in Pointe Coupee Parish either when his father moved there from Kiln, Mississippi.
“My father was instrumental in getting electricity to the area,” Curet said, adding that his father was actively involved in Pointe Coupee’s Rural Electric Association.
Curet’s father also raised cattle and grew crops on his land in Mix, Louisiana.
“He knew his cattle inventory. If one was missing, he knew which one it was,” Curet said.
Curet’s daughter, Jeanne James, an alumna of the LSU College of Agriculture, said the people of Pointe Coupee thought so highly of her grandfather, they made him the first adult king of New Roads Mardi Gras.
“I’ve had several prominent farmers tell me they owe their career to my grandfather,” James said.
Louis Curet is a 1947 graduate of LSU. He received his law degree from the LSU Law Center three years later. He also has had a distinguished career that kept his ties with agriculture. He worked as an attorney for 55 years, serving as legal counsel for Louisiana Farm Bureau for 40 years.
Curet served as the president of Baton Rouge Bar Association from 1972-1973. He was inducted in the LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction in 2002.
Curet and his late wife, Jean Harvey Curet, extended their philanthropy to many causes. He has been an ardent supporter of the LSU Department of French Studies, funding an international internship in France. He was a founder and the first president of the Friends of the French Studies. Starting in 2002, Curet, who is his now 88, would travel to France for six weeks every year. His last trip was in 2013.
Curet hopes his latest gift will help students pursue a career in agricultural education.
“I want people to promote agriculture as much as they can. It’s a great profession,” Curet said.