Jesse L. Boucher
Encyclopedia
Jesse L. Boucher was a north Louisiana
insurance
agency owner and large-scale real estate
developer who also served from 1958-1962 as the mayor
of his native Springhill
in northern Webster Parish
.
, Louisiana. The Bouchers had three daughters, two of whom became actresses in Hollywood, California
. Sherry Boucher
appeared mostly on television between 1967 and 1979 and was the third wife of George Peppard
. Savannah Smith Boucher
is an actress and producer living in Los Angeles
.
As an outstanding football player at the end position for the Springhill Lumberjacks, young Boucher won an athletic scholarship to Northwestern State University
in Natchitoches
, then known as "Louisiana Normal
". There he played football and ran track, including participation in a conference-winning mile relay race. He was president of both his senior class and the NSU student body.
After he received his Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1935, he taught and coached in Webster Parish for three years: first in the Evergreen Community south of Shongaloo
, then at Doyline High School in the village
of Doyline
, and, finally, at Minden High School
in Minden
, the parish seat of government. He was also briefly employed in 1938 by Warner Brothers Pictures before he joined his friend Wilburn Slack in the organization of the Boucher and Slack Insurance Agency in Springhill. Prior to World War II
, he served for a few months as a captain in the United States Army Air Corps
at Clovis
, New Mexico
. He reisgned as captain and returned to the insurance agency. During the war began, however, he served from 1940-1944 as an officer in the United States Navy
in Pensacola
, Florida
.
. In 1946, he opened an electric supply company in Springhill. His development projects were in Springhill, Bossier City
, Vivian
, Baton Rouge
, Lake Charles
, and Natchitoches as well as Little Rock
, and Pine Bluff
, Arkansas.
He was elected mayor in 1958 to succeed the late Charles Emmett McConnell, a lawyer who subsequently made losing races in 1967 and 1971 for the Louisiana House of Representatives
. Boucher did not seek reelection as mayor in 1962 and was succeeded by James Allen. Boucher's brother-in-law, Johnny D. Herrington, Eloise’s brother, served twice as mayor, 1978–1986 and again from 1995-2006.
Active in civic matters, Boucher was the chairman of the Springhill American Legion
post and as president of the Springhill Lions Club, and the Springhill High School Alumni Association, which he formed with his friend Woodrow Turner. He also organized and developed the Lumberjack Festival in Springhill, named for the high school athletic teams. In 1957, he was named head of the Webster Parish United Way charity drive.
Boucher was honored repeatedly by his peers in the real estate business by having been selected for the "Who’s Who" and the "National Register" of Real Estate Developers and "Builder of the Year" in 1995-1996. He was also inducted into the "Long Purple Line" at Northwestern State University.
In addition to Sherry and Savannah, Boucher had a third and youngest daughter, Jessica Boucher (born 1955), who resides in Nashville
, Tennessee
, with her fiancee, Kevin Beamish
. She was a recording artist for Warner Bros., Curb
Records and Polygram from 1980–1992 and exclusive songwriter for Sony/Tree Publishing. Her son, Nathan Kyle Rogers (born September 28, 1976), also resides in Nashville. Jessica Boucher studied at Kaplan University
, having received her A.A.S. in Computer Science
and an MBA, with credential also in E*Commerce. She is the director of web development at the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
Boucher's siblings were Eli Augustus Boucher, Henry Creel Boucher (1913–1992), David G. Boucher, Katie B. Nelson, and Estelle Sally Boucher Slack. He had three grandchildren.
Boucher died on Christmas Day 2004 after a three-year struggle with cancer
. Services were held on December 28, 2004, at the First United Methodist Church in Springhill. Honorary pallbearers include well-known figures: Louisiana Public Service Commission
er Foster Campbell
, Louisiana State Senator
Robert R. Adley
, former State Senator John W. “Jack” Montgomery
, State Representative
, Jean Doerge, Bossier City Mayor
George Dement, former Heisman Trophy
winner from Sprighill John David Crow
, and former U.S. Representative Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. Boucher was a first cousin
of Drayton Boucher
, who held the Bossier
/Webster Parish state senate seat from 1940-1952.
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
agency owner and large-scale real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
developer who also served from 1958-1962 as the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of his native Springhill
Springhill, Louisiana
Springhill is a city in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,439 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in northern Webster Parish
Webster Parish, Louisiana
Webster Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. In 2010, its population was 41,207....
.
Early years, education, military
Boucher was born to Henry H. Boucher and the former Mary "Dixie" Coyle in the Bodcau community near Springhill, which had been founded some twenty years earlier by his father and grandfather. He attended Shiloh School and graduated in 1931 from Springhill High School, as did all members of his immediate family. On September 1, 1940, he married the former Mary Eloise Herrington (born November 21, 1923), one of four children born to Eron Franklin Herrington and the former Susie Mae Fillingame (1906–1976), formerly of BastropBastrop, Louisiana
Bastrop is a city in and the parish seat of Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,988 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Bastrop, Louisiana Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Monroe-Bastrop, Louisiana Combined...
, Louisiana. The Bouchers had three daughters, two of whom became actresses in Hollywood, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Sherry Boucher
Sherry Boucher
Sherry Lynn Boucher, or Sherry Boucher-Lytle , is a former American actress who was once married to actor George Peppard. She is now a Realtor in Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana. She is a younger sister of actress Savannah Smith Boucher.Boucher was born in Springhill in northern Webster...
appeared mostly on television between 1967 and 1979 and was the third wife of George Peppard
George Peppard
George Peppard, Jr. was an American film and television actor.Peppard secured a major role when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's , portrayed a character based on Howard Hughes in The Carpetbaggers , and played the title role of the millionaire sleuth Thomas Banacek in...
. Savannah Smith Boucher
Savannah Smith Boucher
Savannah Smith Boucher is an American actress originally from Springhill in Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Her younger sister, Sherry Boucher, is a former actress who was the third wife of the late actor George Peppard....
is an actress and producer living in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
As an outstanding football player at the end position for the Springhill Lumberjacks, young Boucher won an athletic scholarship to Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
in Natchitoches
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
, then known as "Louisiana Normal
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
". There he played football and ran track, including participation in a conference-winning mile relay race. He was president of both his senior class and the NSU student body.
After he received his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1935, he taught and coached in Webster Parish for three years: first in the Evergreen Community south of Shongaloo
Shongaloo, Louisiana
Shongaloo is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States.West of Shongaloo on Louisiana Highway 2 is Munn Hill, a homestead of Daniel and Rebecca Munn, established on July 26, 1900....
, then at Doyline High School in the village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
of Doyline
Doyline, Louisiana
Doyline is a village in southwestern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 841 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, and, finally, at Minden High School
Minden High School (Minden, Louisiana)
Minden High School is the public secondary educational institution in Minden, a small city of 13,000 and the seat of Webster Parish located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana...
in Minden
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
, the parish seat of government. He was also briefly employed in 1938 by Warner Brothers Pictures before he joined his friend Wilburn Slack in the organization of the Boucher and Slack Insurance Agency in Springhill. Prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served for a few months as a captain in the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
at Clovis
Clovis, New Mexico
Clovis is the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 32,667 at the 2000 census; according to 2010 Census Bureau estimates, the population had risen to 37,775....
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. He reisgned as captain and returned to the insurance agency. During the war began, however, he served from 1940-1944 as an officer in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in Pensacola
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Business, political, and civic activities
Boucher returned to Springhill to resume his insurance business but soon branched into developing subdivisions and constructing apartments, shopping centers, industrial buildings, schools, and hotels, in both Louisiana and neighboring ArkansasArkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. In 1946, he opened an electric supply company in Springhill. His development projects were in Springhill, Bossier City
Bossier City, Louisiana
Bossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States.As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 61,315. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is the...
, Vivian
Vivian, Louisiana
Vivian, is a town in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States and is home to the Red Bud Festival. The population was 4,031 at the 2000 census...
, Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, and Natchitoches as well as Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, and Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
, Arkansas.
He was elected mayor in 1958 to succeed the late Charles Emmett McConnell, a lawyer who subsequently made losing races in 1967 and 1971 for the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
. Boucher did not seek reelection as mayor in 1962 and was succeeded by James Allen. Boucher's brother-in-law, Johnny D. Herrington, Eloise’s brother, served twice as mayor, 1978–1986 and again from 1995-2006.
Active in civic matters, Boucher was the chairman of the Springhill American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
post and as president of the Springhill Lions Club, and the Springhill High School Alumni Association, which he formed with his friend Woodrow Turner. He also organized and developed the Lumberjack Festival in Springhill, named for the high school athletic teams. In 1957, he was named head of the Webster Parish United Way charity drive.
Boucher was honored repeatedly by his peers in the real estate business by having been selected for the "Who’s Who" and the "National Register" of Real Estate Developers and "Builder of the Year" in 1995-1996. He was also inducted into the "Long Purple Line" at Northwestern State University.
In addition to Sherry and Savannah, Boucher had a third and youngest daughter, Jessica Boucher (born 1955), who resides in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, with her fiancee, Kevin Beamish
Kevin Beamish
Kevin Beamish is an American record producer, sound engineer and mixer.He was the producer and engineer of REO Speedwagon #1 album Hi Infidelity and of the hit single "Keep on Loving You", with 15 million albums and 4 million singles sold worldwide....
. She was a recording artist for Warner Bros., Curb
Mike Curb
Michael Curb is an American musician, record company executive, NASCAR and IRL race car owner. A Republican, he served as the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of California from 1979-1983 under Democratic Governor Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr...
Records and Polygram from 1980–1992 and exclusive songwriter for Sony/Tree Publishing. Her son, Nathan Kyle Rogers (born September 28, 1976), also resides in Nashville. Jessica Boucher studied at Kaplan University
Kaplan University
Kaplan University is the "doing business as" name of the Iowa College Acquisition Corporation, a company that owns and operates for-profit colleges...
, having received her A.A.S. in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
and an MBA, with credential also in E*Commerce. She is the director of web development at the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
Boucher's siblings were Eli Augustus Boucher, Henry Creel Boucher (1913–1992), David G. Boucher, Katie B. Nelson, and Estelle Sally Boucher Slack. He had three grandchildren.
Boucher died on Christmas Day 2004 after a three-year struggle with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. Services were held on December 28, 2004, at the First United Methodist Church in Springhill. Honorary pallbearers include well-known figures: Louisiana Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms...
er Foster Campbell
Foster Campbell
Foster L. Campbell, Jr. , is a Democratic member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, a former 26-year member of the Louisiana State Senate, and an unsuccessful candidate for governor in the October 20, 2007, jungle primary. Campbell polled 161,425 votes and won two parishes: Red River and...
, Louisiana State Senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
Robert R. Adley
Robert Adley (Louisiana politician)
Robert Roy Adley , is a businessman and politician from Benton, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate...
, former State Senator John W. “Jack” Montgomery
Jack Montgomery (Louisiana politician)
John Willard Montgomery, Sr., known as Jack Montgomery , is an attorney in private practice in the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, who served in the 26th District of the Louisiana State Senate for a single four-year term from 1968—1972...
, State Representative
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
, Jean Doerge, Bossier City Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
George Dement, former Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner from Sprighill John David Crow
John David Crow
John David Crow was the Heisman Trophy winner and halfback from Texas A&M University in 1957...
, and former U.S. Representative Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. Boucher was a first cousin
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
of Drayton Boucher
Drayton Boucher
Drayton Rogers Boucher was a Louisiana state legislator from Springhill in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, affiliated with the Long faction of state Democratic politics. Boucher represented Webster Parish for a single four-year term in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940...
, who held the Bossier
Bossier Parish, Louisiana
Bossier Parish is named for Pierre Bossier, a 19th-century Louisiana state senator and U.S. representative from Natchitoches Parish.Bossier Parish was spared fighting on its soil during the American Civil War...
/Webster Parish state senate seat from 1940-1952.