Joe LeSage
| Joseph Carnahan LeSage, Jr. | |
 LeSage in undated photo | |
Louisiana State Senator
for Caddo Parish (at-large) | |
| In office 1968–1972 | |
| Preceded by | At-large: Jackson Beauregard Davis, Sr. |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Jackson B. Davis (District 37) |
| Born | December 12, 1928 Homer, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana |
| Died | September 22, 2015 (aged 86) Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Resting place | Body donated to medical science |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Lorraine Yearwood LeSage (divorced) (2) Dolores F. Word LeSage |
| Children | Sherry Anne LeSage (1950–2010) Susan Virginia "Susie" LeSage |
| Alma mater | Louisiana State University LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Army Ordnance Corps Judge Advocate General's Corps |
| Years of service | 1952-1954 |
Joseph Carnahan LeSage, Jr., known as Joe LeSage (December 12, 1928 – September 22, 2015),[1] was an attorney in Shreveport, Louisiana, who served as a Democratic state senator for a single term from 1968 to 1972.[2]
Background
LeSage was born to Joseph LeSage, Sr. (1895–1964), and the former Avalyn Taylor (1907–1991). The senior LeSages are interred at Arlington Cemetery in Homer in [Claiborne Parish. He played football at Homer High School and then attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where he was the quarterback of the LSU Tigers in 1948.[3] In 1949, LeSage graduated from LSU, where he was affiliated with Omicron Delta Kappa and Gamma Eta Gamma. In 1952, he obtained his law degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU and was admitted to the Louisiana bar.[4]Lesage served from 1952 to 1954 in the United States Army Ordnance Corps and the Judge Advocate General's Corps during the later portion of the Korean War. He was stationed stateside at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the The Pentagon in Washington, D.C..[1]
Political and legal career
In 1956, at the age of only twenty-seven, LeSage was appointed to the LSU Board of Supervisors, the governing board of the university. He left the board during his state Senate tenure but returned to serve again much later from 1992 to 1998. He maintained a lifelong interest in matters relating to his alma mater.[4]
LeSage was elected to the state Senate in the general election held on February 6, 1968. LeSage and two other Democrats, J. Bennett Johnston, Jr. (the future U.S. Senator), and incumbent state Senator Jackson Beauregard Davis, Sr. (1918-2016), defeated the sole Republican candidate, Tom Stagg, in an at-large race.[5] The Senate seats thereafter were converted to single-member districts. All four state Senate candidates were Shreveport lawyers. Stagg, who died three months before LeSage, was appointed in 1974 by U.S. President Richard M. Nixon to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Shreveport.
LeSage practiced in the firm of Booth, Lockard, Politz, and LeSage at 920 Pierremont Road in Shreveport, Booth, Lockard, Jack, Pleasant and LeSage; the "Jack" in the name was the late Whitfield Jack. He specializes in personal injury, white collar criminal defense and estate law. LeSage was affiliated with the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.[4]
Personal life
LeSage was twice married. He was divorced from the former Lorraine Yearwood (1928-2020), the daughter of Boyd Yearwood (1907–1976) and Olwen M. Yearwood (1907–2003), later of Bossier City. The couple had two daughters, Susan Virginia "Susie" LeSage and Sherry Anne LeSage (1950–2010), a prominent Shreveport real estate agent. Sherry LeSage, her mother Lorraine LeSage, and maternal grandmother Olwen Yearwood, formed Yearwood-LeSage Realtors.[6]The trio was the only three-generations of women engaged in real estate in Louisiana at the time. In 1987, Yearwood-LeSage merged with Towery Real Estate. Sherry LeSage was named Shreveport "Realtor of the Year" in 1990 and was appointed to a term on the Louisiana State Real Estate Commission. She died days before her sixtieth birthday, having contracted an auto-immune disease, scleroderma, which attacks the kidneys and requires regular dialysis.[7]
LeSage had two step-daughters from his second wife, the former Dolores F. Word, whom he married c. 1980. Deborah Word "Debbie" Jackson is married to Patrick Jackson, and Sondra Word Jordan, who is the wife of Damon Jordon. LeSage has two step-grandchildren, Victoria Laiche Jordan and Zackary Joseph Jordan.[1]
LeSage was a long-term member of the Broadmoor Baptist Church of Shreveport. He donated his body to medical science.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Joe C. LeSage, Jr., obituary. The Shreveport Times (September 24, 2015). Retrieved on April 20, 2021.
- ↑ SENATE DIRECTORY 1880-Present (la.gov), Membership in the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2024, accessed April 20, 2021}}
- ↑ Lettermen at LSU. lsusports.net. Retrieved on May 4, 2010; material no longer accessible on-line.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Joseph C. LeSage, Jr.. blpllaw.com. Retrieved on April 20, 2021.
- ↑ State of Louisiana, Secretary of State, Louisiana general election returns, February 6, 1968.
- ↑ Lorraine LeSage Obituary (1928 - 2020) - Shreveport, LA - Shreveport Times (legacy.com, accessed April 20, 2021.
- ↑ Sherry Anne LeSage obituary. The Shreveport Times (April 29, 2010). Retrieved on April 20, 2021.
