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For Harold Plaisance, a good day started the same way every time – with a cup of coffee in his hands and friends by his side.
“He loved hanging out early in the morning with his padnas drinking coffee,” stepdaughter Celaya Bruce said. “That was one of his favorite things to do.”
Together, the men told jokes, laughed and shared stories about their lives.
When it was Harold’s turn to be the storyteller, one of the things he did best was talk about the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren – the people whom he loved the most.
Harold died on April 16 after a lengthy battle with illness. He was 68. Those closest to the Galliano native remember him as a loving father and grandfather – a man who would do anything in his power to make his family happy, no matter the situation.
Plaisance is survived by his longtime companion Sonya Dantin, two children (Harold Plaisance Jr. and Trisha Charpentier) three stepchildren (Celaya Bruce, Celeste Callais and Ted Chiasson) and 11 grandchildren – all of whom were the apples of his eye.
“He was his grandkids’ biggest fan,” Celaya said. “Nothing made him happier than following them around. He loved going watch them play sports, and for the ones that didn’t, they did special things together like feeding the fish, playing with the cats or just plain hanging out with all of them and the family. He was a great dad and an awesome grandpa.”
Harold was a Cajun man through and through.
The youngest child born to Clovis and Lezima Plaisance, Harold was bilingual – a trait that’s commonplace for south Lafourche Parish folks who are around his age.
“He had to learn English to start school,” daughter Trisha Charpentier said. “He only spoke French at the time. His mom only spoke French her whole life.”
As Harold grew up, he learned to love the outdoors – a trait that stayed with him his whole life.
As an adult, Harold was a talented commercial fisherman. He also trawled for shrimp, crabbed and caught oysters.
When not doing that, Harold found other ways to live off the land.
“My dad also loved to duck hunt,” Trisha said. “He also was really big into gardening and growing citrus trees, as well.”
When not working, Harold loved to pass a good time with his friends. He’d often sit around the famous tree in Golden Meadow and talk with the men who gather around every day.
Harold’s personality was such that he found a way to get along with anyone he met – even if it was someone that he didn’t know very well.
“He never met a stranger,” Trisha said. “He would extend courtesy to all that he met. He was a people person.”
A people person, yes. But there’s no doubt that his favorite folks were those in his family.
Harold had two children, but accepted three other children into his life – an act that those closest to the man said they are forever grateful for.
When Harold met Sonya 28 years ago, she had three young children from a prior relationship.
As the two got closer, Harold decided that he would provide for them and take them as his own.
Celaya said she remembers the day she met Harold for the first time. She didn’t consider him a father figure then, but she certainly does now – calling her stepfather a man that she will forever admire and love dearly.
“He was always good to us,” Celaya said of her stepfather’s relationship with his stepchildren. “He didn’t have to stay with someone with three kids and care for them, but he chose to, and I will always be very grateful. … I never called him dad, but he was our dad, and I know that he knew that. … He was an amazing person.”
The unique family situation also netted Harold more grandkids – something that he loved to his core.
A lot of Harold’s grandkids are standout athletes, which often put him in basketball gyms or on baseball diamonds throughout the state to follow their games.
When around the grandkids, he always nourished their spirit with love and encouragement – showing them love in any way possible.
“My kids got to know first-hand on how a relationship between a child and a grandfather should be because of him,” Celaya said. “He would have done anything he could for his grandkids. And as many places as he traveled to see them in sports, he would have gone to even more if he were physically able.
“We know he will be watching and we all will continue to make him proud. We want him to be cheering from up above.” •
