Katrina's Lives Lost:	Betty Arceneaux, 1940-2005; 
			Doug Arcenaux, 1936-2005
Submitted By: 		N.O.V.A November 2005
Source:			Times Picayune 11-01-2005

**********************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm
**********************************************

Three days before Katrina hit, Betty Arceneaux called her friend Glendora
Ferman.

"My house is all done. My kitchen's all done. But Doug won't be cooking in
it. It's too pretty, and he makes a mess when he cooks," Betty told her
friend of more than 40 years.

The Arceneauxs had lived in their Meraux home for more than 30 years, and
sprucing it up was something the couple took pride in doing. Doug, a truck
driver, and Betty, who retired last spring after 45 years as a secretary
for Kasco Glass Company, had spent $34,000 of their savings on renovations.

The house was more than just their home, says Doug Arceneaux's 36-year-old
son, Douglas. It was the center of their lives, where they invited family
and friends every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even their lawn, Douglas
says, "was immaculate. They didn't even want you to walk on the grass
because it left footprints. And they treasured a Japanese Magnolia tree
they had paid a lot for."

The Arceneauxs had a routine, and it revolved around their home.

"They got up every morning, read the paper, drank coffee, watched the
news," Douglas said. "And then Mom would cook breakfast and do chores
inside the house. And Dad would work outside. They would have dinner at 6,
and then Mom would do the laundry."

Betty, his stepmother, "was a very good cook, especially with spaghetti and
meatballs," Arceneaux says. But on Sundays after church, they would go out
to eat. It was a day of rest for everyone.

Doug Arceneaux, born in Rayne, was known for his humor.

"He always had a joke to tell . . . sometimes a dirty joke," recalls
Glendora's daughter Monica Ferman. "Let's face it, 95 percent of the time
it was a dirty joke. But he always made you laugh."

Doug Arceneaux took his son fishing to Delacroix and Hopedale and to
fishing rodeos. He and Betty embraced "the atmosphere and the celebration"
of New Orleans, Douglas says. That's why they made it home. It's where
Betty Arceneaux was born 65 years ago.

When it looked like New Orleans would be in the direct path of a massive
storm, Betty called Glendora again.

"I'm not leaving because (I'm afraid) of looters, and I just finished my
house," Betty told her.

The Arceneauxs invited a couple, friends of theirs who lived in a house-
trailer in a low-lying area, to come stay with them in their home.

The four of them were found dead in the Arceneaux's attic.

"My Dad had taken income tax papers up there. I think he knew what was
coming, and he wanted to have some identification with him," says
Arceneaux, who talked with them by cell phone during the storm.

The last thing the son said to his father was, "I love you." Then the phone
went dead.