WILLIAM OLIVER JEANSONNE
Many things can be said about William Oliver Jeansonne. His life was filled with friends, family, devotion, hard work and love. From an early age he was excellent student. He was friendly, soft hearted, easy going and very organized in all that he did. He was a natural born teacher and mentor to many. He had a talent for explaining things in a way that people understood, making tasks easier to achieve.
He always seemed to bring out the best in the ones around him. In life he was successful as a student, physician, husband, father and friend. He had a gift for gab, often described as a raconteur for his story telling. He loved automobiles and sports. He did not like confrontation and focused his life on harmony and peace.
Known as Billy early in life, but as Bill in his adult life, he was born at home in Many, Louisiana December the 16 1934, the third and last child of Estelle (Duffy) and Beverly Louis Jeansonne. He had one older brother (Robert) and sister (Beverly Anne).
At age five the family moved to Plauche Ville, Louisiana. His dad opened a small drug store, but times were tough, recovering slowly from the 1929 depression. In addition, much business was done on credit and payments made after the cotton crops came in, unfortunately the Boll Weevil scourge of the 1930s intervened and the business failed.
Billy finished first grade in a bilingual school taught in French and English.
In 1940, the family moved to New Roads, Louisiana where his father worked as a pharmacist at City Pharmacy. His early childhood involved several moves from Many to Plauche Ville, New Roads, and Montgomery Louisiana until finally settling in Baton Rouge as he started third grade. He attended St Agnes Parochial school.
It was there he met James J. Hannie who would remain his closest friend for his entire life. They attended Catholic High School together. Billy was Valedictorian and at age sixteen was accepted to LSU.
He graduated from LSU in 1955. His many honors included membership in honorary societies: Pi Mu Epsilon Math Award, Alpha Epsilon Delta, Mu Sigma Rho, Omicron Delta Kappa and was a Phi Beta Kappa Honoree.
He then attended Louisiana State University School of Medicine and graduated in 1959. He was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, Honorary Medical Fraternity and was elected Student Body President.
After a successful internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans he was accepted to the Naval School of Aviation Medicine in Pensacola Florida.
On July 2, 1960, prior to entering the navy he married Stephenie Campbell. They met in 1958 in a chance meeting on a charter train to Houston Texas for the LSU Rice football game. She was an LSU Cheerleader and became the love of his life.
They were stationed at NAS Pensacola where they rented a small house one block from the base. It was on Bayou Grand. They had a small boat, and it was like a six-month honeymoon. Bill got his wings and finished at the top of his class.
He was then stationed at NAS Meridian where they welcomed their first child, Julie Estelle, born March 28, 1961.
Following his tour of duty in the navy he pursued a 3-year specialty training in the OBGYN at Charity Hospital in New Orleans where their son Mark Campbell was born in 1963. In his time at Charity Hospital, he served as Chief Resident.
Following the residency training, the family moved to Mobile, Alabama, entering private practice with Raymond E. Abell. His third child Michael McDowell was born in Mobile in 1966. Bill retired from private practice in 2008. During his career, he delivered over ten thousand babies including 84 deliveries in one month, (August 1969).
His professional accomplishments were many, including OBGYN Department Chairmen at Mobile Infirmary, President of Mobile County Medical Society, President of the Medical Staff of Springhill Memorial Hospital,
President Mobile Bay OBGYN Society, President Alabama Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology. His professional memberships included Mobile County Medical Society, Medical Association State of Alabama, American Medical Association, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Memorable Moments
In his lifetime he enjoyed many and varied activities. He and Stephenie enjoyed traveling, visiting 38 states and 29 countries.
In high school he enjoyed baseball, basketball, and football. Most memorable event was losing one-hitter in American Legion Playoffs (1-0) to a no-hitter by future Major League great (“Big Bill” Lee).
He was enthusiastic about tennis, sailing and most especially golf. He enjoyed seven hole in ones.
Family and entertainment played large roles in his life. Adventure and family vacations included whitewater rafting, canoeing, mountain climbing, skiing, and sailing.
He purchased a beach house on ONO Island in 1992. This led to many new friends and served as a vacation headquarters for family and friends as well as a permanent home for his beloved sailboat “DOS AMIGOS”.
Sadly, his progressive back and neck problems forced him to give up sailing and golf. However, he was able to fall back on his lifetime passion for automobiles, cruising top down in his 2007 MB SL550 (OOH BABE). Also still enjoying LSU football, visiting with close friends, enjoying quality time with the love of his life, his fantastic loving wife, Stephanie, to whom he was married for over sixty years.
Bill was soft hearted. Often you could see him tear up watching a sad movie.
He was the best father and husband that anyone could ask for. He loved his family, and they loved him.
Memorable Family History
His paternal heritage is quite interesting. Original North American immigrants were from Scottish decent settling first in Nova Scotia, (William Johnson) locally known as Acadia. Refusing to pay taxes to the British crown they allied with the French settlers and as a result were deported to various eastern seaports in the colonies. Louisiana was at that time a French possession so many (Acadians) as they were called migrated to Louisiana, uniting with “Their Kind”. The family name (Johnson) had been morphed to the current form (Jeansonne) by the French people. Through marriage into the Plauche family, we are identified as “Founders of New Orleans” having descended from the original thirteen settlers in the Vieux Carre (French Quarter). My daughter Julie (Adkins) was presented in the court at their annual ball.
His maternal heritage is less interesting, as the Duffy family immigration occurred as an escape from the ravages (Potato Famine) in Ireland. For the most part they eventually settled in Wisconsin and thrived as dairy farmers. His grandfather (William Franklin Duffy) graduated in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin and met his future wife Annie Lyons while directing the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad Line through North Louisiana.
His mother, Estelle, was a driving force in the family, always insisting on the value of education. His father had originally planned on being a farmer like his father, but she encourages him to attend college. He graduated with a degree in Pharmacy from Loyola University in 1926 and he and Estelle were married shortly thereafter. As the children got older, Estelle encouraged moving to Baton Rouge Louisiana where the children could easily be able to attend LSU. Her persistent encouragement and expectation of diligent study resulted in all the children receiving academic scholarships to LSU. Grades were important to her. Once chided Billy about a “B” in Books and Libraries.
After the children graduated college, she attended LSU also. She had previously attained a two-year Teachers Certificate from Northwestern in 1925 but wanted a university degree and although teaching full time realized her dream graduating from LSU in 1958 with a BA in education.
Her belief in the value of education and her insistence on dedication to a goal resulted in all three children achieving successful professional careers.
