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Alma “Joy” Williams Holley, aged 86, passed away, peacefully at her home, on October 27, 2021, with her family by her side.
Joy was born on December 12, 1934 in St Augustine, Florida.
She was married to James “Dave” Holley, until his passing on July 22, 2017.
Joy was a devoted wife, loving mother, avid fisher, and award winning local artist.
She is survived by her daughter Sandy and husband, Joey Simoneaux of Denham Springs, Sons, David “Brady” Holley and his wife Tammy of Abbeville, and Barry Holley and his wife Lisa of Abbeville; one brother Tommy Hebert and five grandchildren, Justin Simoneaux and his wife Brianna, Aimee Joy and her husband Jonathon Pomeroy, Skye Holley, Hannah Holley, and Sydney Holley Broussard, and her husband Kaine; 8 Great-Grandchildren, with an additional one on the way.
Joy is proceeded in death by her husband Dave Holley, Parents Alice Hebert and Ralph Williams.
A celebration of Joy’s life will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The family would like to thank, Hospice of Acadiana, for the compassionate care they provided.

The Vermilion Chamber of Commerce hosted the second annual Women’s Leadership Luncheon that took place on Friday.
The sold-out event took place at the LSU Ag Center and highlighted this year’s theme, “Energize. Ignite. Celebrate. We’re Better Together,” intending to energize attendees, ignite their desire for growth, leadership and involvement and to celebrate those that lead in their respective roles in the community.
Showcasing women’s talents and how those stories can play an instrumental role in inspiring other women was the event’s highlight. The team selected three guest speakers who energized, ignited and celebrated women and all what can be accomplished by coming together.
“Bringing women together, successful women and those seeking inspiration is a huge part of what we aim to do every year, and this year was a pretty big turnout,” Megan Landry-Lalande said, “I mean, this room is packed.” Lalande is the past president and Chairman of Marketing Committee. When she began this endeavor, she was the Centennial President of the Chamber in 2020.
With ties to Vermilion Parish, all three guest speakers presented topics to elevate all in attendance. Jennifer Adcock, a resident of Vermilion Parish, is a partner at EXCELERANT, which is a leading provider of leadership development and human resources solutions based in Acadiana. Holding a master’s degree in Human Resources, Adcock has three certifications in Human Resources, is a certified Instructor/Facilitator, and a certified Succession Planner.
Adcock, who brought a bit of self-identity to the luncheon, gave the audience an exercise. The purpose was to provide a bit of strength
training and to allow women to recognize their role in the community.
“We won’t take you through the exercises we like to use when we work with leaders all over the country,” said Adcock. “We want to help you tap into who you are and what your strengths are as we do for them. We want you to reach your highest potential.”
Adcock explained that women tend to forget to take care of themselves. She learned over the years that it is hard for women to list what they think they are good at.
“How can we best utilize our strengths to make an impact? That is what we are going to try and figure out,” she said.
After that exercise, Adcock asked, “Those strengths that you wrote down, how do you use that to support your growth, community, team, family or anyone around you? What would you like to be your legacy?”
Adcock focused on awakening the fire that women were born with by acknowledging their worth, strengths, weaknesses, and ability to rely on other women to lift them while they’re down.
Committed to her community, Judge Laurie Hulin joined the Women’s Leadership Luncheon to inspire female empowerment. Unsure of what she could bring to the table, Hulin recalled several cases she has kept with her throughout the years. These cases could inspire anyone, which is why she decided to use them as an example.
“What could I offer an already successful crowd,” Hulin thought. “My work centers on conflict, injury, neglect, deprivation, acts of immorality, which the court does seek to resolve. However, there is a harsh reality to that.”
One particular case involved a troubled woman who got mixed up with the wrong crowd.
Hulin saw her many faces, the faces that come with drug addiction.
“We sent her to a rehabilitation facility, and that was the best thing that could have happened to her,” she said. “She came back to court, looked so beautiful, and her posture was great, but sadly, this was not going to be the last I see of her, even after telling her to get out of Vermilion Parish where the temptation and certain individuals were close by.”
There were a couple of other instances where she came before the court in the same situation, but this last time, she was pregnant. Hulin sent her back to the rehab facility and was utterly taken aback by her transition into motherhood. “That is inspiring to me. Things like that stick with you,” said Hulin.
Hulin also recalled an abuse case that involved a four-year-old. The act of forgiveness that the parent had was most inspiring. It taught me a lot,” she said. It’s no secret that some instances and situations in life will leave an impact on you. Allowing yourself to be open to those things is what makes women extraordinary. “I was motivated by this parents’ forgiveness especially being a mother to a young child,” she said.
“We, as women, need to come together to rebuild our community.”
This event began last year, but it is already showing its importance to those who attended.
The final guest speaker is someone whose name is also widely recognized. Anita Levy was recognized as one of the 2020 “Women Who Mean Business” by United Way of Acadiana. She has been the Board of Chair of The Levy Cancer Foundation in Vermilion Parish since 2015. In addition, the Abbeville native serves on numerous boards within the parish.
Levy helped celebrate women in her appearance as a guest speaker. With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, what better time to celebrate women during the month?
Levy credits her team for the Levy Cancer Foundation as passionate and dynamic.
“These people volunteer their time (sometimes even their family members) to raise money for these cancer patients,” Levy said. Working with such a generous team, it’s no question that women are born to lead.
The Levy Cancer Foundation was established in 2013 and named for her parents, Irvin and Josephine Levy, who passed away from cancer. Each year, the foundation in which Abbeville General collaborates assures residents seeking treatment have realistic options. In addition, each year, the foundation honors two breast cancer survivors with the “Courage Award” to honor their struggles with cancer while getting a night of dinner and dancing with their guests.
Levy is one of 64,500 black women, ages 21-69, from across the country enrolled in The Black Women’s Health Study, a long-term observational study to investigate the health problems of black women to improve their health.
As a community servant, Levy serves on the board at Abbeville General. In addition, she is president of the Vermilion Parish Council on Aging, past parish council president at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Catholic Church and current vice president of the Ladies Altar Society.
A recipient of many awards of recognition, including being the 2012 recipient of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. award from St. Theresa, Levy was recognized for her outstanding service to church and community. She was also the 2017 recipient of the Bishop Service Award for the Diocese of Lafayette, and 2019 recipient of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award and parade grand marshal.
The work that Levy has done is nothing shy of what a woman leader is capable of.
Levy said that there are times that they get phone calls in the middle of the night from people in need of an ear or some support.
“We are grateful for all of our new guests and speakers today,” said Lalande, “The amazing women here today who were our guest speakers, we thank you and applaud you.” Lalande also thanked those who attended and expressed how hopeful she was for next year’s event. “It’s not too late to plan to attend next year.”

Halie Winch of Abbeville and Chet McGee of Delcambre were united in marriage on Saturday, October 23, 2021 at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville. Officiating the 6:00 p.m. ceremony was Father Donald Boudreaux.
Halie is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Quentin L. Winch of Abbeville. She is the granddaughter of G. Leona Mathis of Lafayette and the late B. F. Winch of Cow Island and the late Mr. and Mrs. Albert F. Fredrick, Jr. of Abbeville.
A graduate of Vermilion Catholic High School, Halie attended the University of Louisiana earning a Bachelors Degree in Business. She is employed by the Vermilion Parish School Board.
Chet is the son of Barbara Lynn Hulin and the late Randall J. McGee of Delcambre. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Delcambre of New Iberia and the late Ms. Thelma Boudreaux and Mr. Curly McGee of Catahoula. He is a graduate of Delcambre High School and is employed by Dacon.
Escorted by her father, the bride wore a voluminous strapless ball gown designed by Rita Vinieris. The gown featured a sculpted bodice with a tattooed lace back detail and concealed pockets adorned each side of the gown.
The bride chose an heirloom two-tier cathedral length veil accented with appliqués and crystals. The bride finished the look with her maternal grandmother’s gold saint bracelet. For her bouquet, she carried an opulent arrangement of white roses, porcelina dross and seeded willow eucalyptus that was embellished with blush accents.
Caitlin Guidry and Jeanne Landry served as matrons of honor. Attending as bridesmaids were Kenny Goessl, sister of the groom, Ashlee Trahan, cousin of the bride, Katherine Boullion, cousin of the bride, Jancic Broussard, friend of the bride, Brooke Huval, friend of the bride and Morgan Arceneaux, friend of the bride. They wore French blue floor-length dresses which featured delicate flutter sleeves and a V-neck and twist detail in the front. They carried opulent bouquets of white roses, porcelina roses and seeded willow eucalyptus that were embellished with blush accents.
Attending as flower girl was Elliot Grace Goessl, niece of the groom. She wore a white Feltman Brothers dress accented with lace trim, smocking, pin tucks and finished with a satin sash.
Serving as best man was Coy Choate, friend of the groom. Groomsmen were Jason Goessl, brother-in-law of the groom, Quentin Lyle Winch II, brother of the bride, Willis Taylor, cousin of the groom, Caleb Broussard, friend of the groom, Colby Dugan, friend of the groom, Christopher Umphries, friend of the groom and Samuel Derise, friend of the groom. They wore a black tuxedo with black ties. Serving as the junior groomsman was Cohen Goessl, nephew of the groom. He wore a black tuxedo with a black tie. Serving as ushers were Jason Frederick, uncle of the bride, Tyler Frederick, cousin of the bride and Samuel Cole Frederick, cousin of the bride. They wore black tuxedos with black ties.
Serving as ring bearers were Owen Broussard, friend of the groom and Logan Goessl, godson of the bride and groom. They wore black tuxedos with black ties.
Scriptures were read by Stacie Trahan, aunt of the bride and Connie Frederick, aunt of the bride.
Together with their attendants, the couple had a rehearsal dinner on Thursday, October 21 at the Riverfront in Abbeville, hosted by the groom’s family. The couple will reside in Delcambre.
Families of the couple would like to express a special thank you to Le Bon Manger, The Caldwell House, Antionette’s Flowers and Rip Van Winkle Gardens for making the day extra special.

For those who travel across the downtown bridge in Abbeville, it will be closing, starting Monday between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
The Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) has two digital signs on each side of the bridge informing drivers about the closer.
Expect the bridge to be closed to traffic for at least six to seven weeks, Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza said.
The Mayor said DOTD will be changing the fenders (wooden pilings) under the bridge.
The fenders are placed under the bridge to protect the bridge from trash or other boats from hitting the bridge.
By Monday, a barge will be next to the bridge, and the bridge will be raised. The barge will remove the old wooden timbers and replace them with new ones.
Earlier this year, Mayor Mark Piazza attended a meeting in Lafayette with the Department of Transportation and Development to discuss flooding in the Vermilion River.
At the meeting, mayor Piazza asked DOTD to change the pilings under the downtown bridge because they helped block debris that flowed under the bridge.
DOTD is honoring his request and starting the project on Monday. According to Mayor Piazza, DOTD is expected to work seven days a week, which means the bridge will be unpassable all seven days of the week.
He informed Abbeville Police Chief William Spearman and Abbeville Fire Chief Jude Mire about the closure.
The fire department has a fire truck stationed on the west side of the river.
Traffic will be rerouted to the Bypass Bridge so expect heavy traffic throughout the day.