Donald P. Chauvin

1944 - 2021

Past District Governor of Rotary and Abbeville High School Athletic Hall of Fame Founder Donald P. Chauvin passed away on October 14, 2021 at the age of 77 while surrounded by loved ones who will continue to honor his legacy of “Service Above Self.”
In June of 1964, Don married Janet Young and they have been happily married for 57 years. They are the proud parents of 4 children, Todd Chauvin, Pamela Chauvin Trahan married to Marshall Trahan, Kimberly Chauvin Etie’ married to Shawn Etie’, and Clayton Chauvin. He is the loving grandfather of 8 grandchildren, Zachary Chauvin, Jake Chauvin, Maddison Chauvin, Emiley Chauvin, Maggie Lackie married to Matt Lackie, Mallory Trahan, Morgan Trahan, and Everett Etie’. He has 12 great-grandchildren.
Don graduated from Abbeville High School in 1962 and continued his education at LSU, majoring in Accounting. In 1970, Don joined his dad in the operation of an H & R Block tax franchise in Abbeville. In 1985, he established the family business known to all as FACTS-5. He dedicated 51 years to serving the community with accounting, income tax, computer, and financial planning. In 2020, Don semi-retired. He worked primarily during tax season and enjoyed the remainder of a calendar year doing his favorite pastimes – namely watching LSU and Saints football.
He was instrumental in organizing the Abbeville Youth Football League (AYFL). Over time the league expanded from the original 4 teams in Abbeville and added 2 teams from Erath and 1 from Kaplan. This AYFL provided an opportunity for 10, 11, and 12-year-old boys to fall in love with the game of football. He served as the league’s President for many years. He also served as Chairman of the Abbeville Parks and Recreation Commission.
In the mid 70’s Don became active with the Abbeville High School Boosters Club and eventually was elected as President of this organization. At that time, the Boosters were only active during football season, and it was mostly a “greet and eat” organization. Don knew they could do much more for athletics and he set out to find additional opportunities for the Boosters to serve all athletic needs of Abbeville High School and thus he founded the AHS Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977. He hoped that this hall of honor would encourage the young athletes at the school to excel, hoping that someday they too would be enshrined into the Hall of Fame.
His entire adult life was dedicated to various community service projects for which he is best known. He was a member of the Abbeville Lions Club, the Abbeville Chamber of Commerce, Abbeville Historical Alliance, and he was a board member of the Abbeville Country Club. From 2005 thru 2016 he had the honor to serve as the Rotary International District 6200 Governor. Don’s dedication to Rotary allowed him to serve the district and his club where he managed the distribution of two million dollars in contributions for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita relief efforts. Throughout all of his Rotary service, Don truly exemplified Rotary’s motto “Service Above Self.”
Don leaves behind his loving wife, 4 children, 8 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 2 sisters Rose Williams, Mary Ann Stoutes and his cousin who he saw more like a son, Tony Meaux.
He was preceded in death by his parents Robert Sr. & Enola Chauvin, 2 brothers Robert Chauvin Jr. and Oscar Chauvin, sister Roberta Fox, and life-long best friend Cliffton Alleman.
A celebration of Don’s life will be held on Tuesday, October 19th, 2021 at David’s Funeral Home in Abbeville, Louisiana from 8:00 am until 2:00 pm with a tribute ceremony to honor him at 12:00 pm.
The Chauvin family would like to express their most sincere appreciation for the exceptional care he received from the Abbeville First Responders and the outpouring of love and support from friends and extended family during this difficult time.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Rotary Foundation at myrotary.org in Donald Chauvin’s honor.