Hazel "Mickey" Laborde

Hazel Austen “Mickey” Supple Laborde died on November 27, 2023, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. She was 85 years old.

Mickey was born in 1938 in Plaquemine, Louisiana, to Joseph Richard Supple and Hazel Austen Naomi Supple. She was the oldest of five daughters. Her father was a member of the third generation of Supples to farm sugar cane on Kinsale and Catherine Plantations, established in 1872 by Jeremiah Supple. Her values were forged there in Iberville Parish, built on a foundation of priorities from which she never wavered: home, family, and her beloved Catholic faith.

Mickey graduated from St. John High School in Plaquemine in 1956, and thereafter from Hotel Dieu School of Nursing in New Orleans. She then trained at Charity Hospital in New Orleans and became a nurse anesthetist. It was there that she met the love of her life, Cliffe Charles (“C.C.”) Laborde, Jr., who was then a student finishing his studies at LSU Medical School.

Mickey and C.C. married in December 1961, and embarked on a life of great adventure together. C.C.’s Air Force career took them around the world and across the country, with extended tours of duty on Okinawa Island (where two of their four children were born) and in Alaska. Mickey, always an enthusiastic and supportive partner with C.C. in their adventures, made beautiful homes for her family at every stop. She delighted in the opportunity to soak up the local cultures along the way, which fed her creativity as a seamstress, artist and cook.

Upon C.C.’s retirement from the Air Force in 1973, Mickey and C.C. moved to Lake Charles. True to form, Mickey turned her energies to supporting C.C. as he established his medical practice in Lake Charles, and to establishing her family in their new hometown.

Mickey was a faithful member of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church and sang in the Messiah Chorus for more than forty Christmases. She was the first female to serve on the Calcasieu Parish Zoning and Planning Commission and the first female President of the Commission. She was appointed by Governor Buddy Roemer to serve on the Louisiana Health Care Authority.

Mickey’s labor of love was serving as President of J. Supple’s Sons Planting Company. During her tenure the company successfully established a wetlands mitigation bank on a portion of its wooded properties. She loved attending board meetings at the old Supple Mercantile Store in Bayou Goula and catching up with (and mediating differences of opinion among) the extended Supple clan.

Each of Mickey’s children and grandchildren (and many of their friends, whom she “adopted” as her own) were completely convinced that they were Mickey’s favorite. She had a knack for remembering what was important to you, what you and she had in common, and knowing what to say to make you walk a little taller.

Mickey is survived by her loving husband of 62 years, Dr. Cliffe Charles Laborde, Jr.; by her children, Cliffe Charles (Catherine) Laborde III, Dr. Richard Supple (Martha) Laborde, Carol LaVerne (“Cala”) Laborde, and Dr. Naomi Catherine (Paul) Friedberg; by her grandchildren, Sarah Catherine Laborde, Caroline Austen Laborde, Marshall Cliffe Laborde, Dr. William Richard (Maria) Laborde, Dr. Mary Margaret (“Maggie”) Inez (John) Miller, Dr. Catherine Louise (Andrew) Kohler, Jack Ryland Friedberg, and Max Thomas Friedberg; and by her great grandchildren, Margaret Louise (“Margot”) Laborde, Michael Edwin Vassallo Laborde, Benjamin Paul Miller, and Adele Louise Kohler.

Mickey is also survived by her sisters, Carol Ann (Lynn, dec.) Hunt, Mary Catherine (James, dec.) Daigre, Virginia Sue Supple, and Barbara Lynn (Lloyd) Drury. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Visitation will be held at Johnson Funeral Home in Lake Charles on Friday, December 1, from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 2, at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Lake Charles. Reverend Monsignor Harry D. Greig will serve as Celebrant, and Msgr. James Gaddy will serve as Concelebrant. Interment will be held immediately following the mass at Consolata Cemetery in Lake Charles.

The family is grateful for the compassionate care given to their mother by all of her caregivers, especially Dawanna Guidry, Dr. Ronald Lewis, the staff at Memorial Hospital and the staff at Harbor Hospice.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Louis Catholic High School Foundation, 1620 Bank Street, Lake Charles, LA  70601, or to the charity of your choice.