NATCHEZ – Graveside services for Bazile R. Lanneau, 82, of Natchez, who died Monday, Nov. 2, 2009, will be 10:30 a.m. today at the Natchez City Cemetery with the Rev. Dr. John Larson officiating.
Burial will follow under the direction of Laird Funeral Home.
Mr. Lanneau was born April 20, 1927, in Natchez, the son of Keith Palmer and Helen Metcalfe Byrnes Lanneau.
Mr. Lanneau served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1946. He graduated from Louisiana State University in 1948 and served as king of the Natchez Pilgrimage with his future wife, Anna Rose Metcalfe, as queen. In 1964 Mr. Lanneau and his wife, Ann, restored his family’s home, Fair Oaks, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Fair Oaks was featured in the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage for 43 years.
He will be best remembered as a fierce competitor on the tennis court. He played on the Natchez High School tennis team and was a major doubles contender for the LSU Tigers.
Professionally, Mr. Lanneau was a successful insurance salesman representing Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company for more than 50 years where he was a national sales leader and a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Roundtable. He also served on the board and as chairman of Natchez First Federal and on the board of Britton & Koontz Bank.
Mr. Lanneau was a member of First Presbyterian Church where he was a deacon and served as president of the Natchez Chamber of Commerce and Natchez Rotary Club. In later years he was active on the board of Natchez Pilgrimage Tours and served as chairman of the Home Owners Association.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Anna Rose M. Lanneau; one daughter, Rose Metcalfe Lanneau; and one brother, Keith P. Lanneau.
Survivors include three children, Bazile R. Lanneau Jr. and wife, Jeanie, and Ann Renée Lanneau, all of Natchez, and Martin M. Lanneau and wife, Joany, of Baton Rouge; four grandchildren, Rose Farmer, Sarah Lanneau Garza and husband, Generoso, all of Mandeville, La., Bazile R. Lanneau III of Austin, Texas, and Martin M. Lanneau Jr. of Baton Rouge; one great-grandson, Andrés Generoso Garza; one sister, Helen Lanneau Eaker; and a number of nieces and nephews.
Online condolences may be sent to www.lairdfh.com.