CLARENCE VITO, SR. Obituary: Terrebonne Parish, La. Submitted by: Louis Lavedan Source: Houma Courier, Houma, Terrebonne Parish, La. 18 July 2005 ================================================== ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** ================================================== NOTES: 1. The date preceding the obituary is the date of posting on the WWW, not the date of death. ============================= July 11. 2005 12:14PM Clarence Vito Sr. [Photo] Clarence J. Vito Sr., 63, a native of Terrebonne Parish and resident of Montegut, died at 4:25 a.m. Tuesday, July 5, 2005. Visitation will be from noon to funeral time Tuesday at Samart Funeral Home in Houma. Religious service will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Price Vito; his mother, Mildred Soudilier Vito; two sons, Clarence Vito Jr. and Lonnie Vito and wife, Joann; one daughter, Suzanne Vito; four brothers, Alfred, Carl, David and Ricky Vito; six sisters, Azlie Vito, Genievie Vito, Shirley Naquin, Patsy Ledet, Marlene Naquin and Carole Lecompte; eight grandchildren, Natasha Vito, Ronny Hutchinson Jr., Lance Naquin, Candice Naquin, Lori Naquin, Lacy Vito, Lawrence Vito and Lindsey Vito; and four great-grandchildren, Abby Hutchinson, Ronny Jay Hutchinson, Isiah Billiot and Tayton Billiot. He was preceded in death by his father, Lawrence C. Vito; and one brother, Lawrence Vito Jr. He was a retired chief of detectives for Houma Police and District Attorney Office and worked for Lowe's. He was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police. Samart Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. July 12. 2005 1:57PM Former Houma policeman dies at 63 By PETER WAGUESPACK Courier Correspondent MONTEGUT -- Clarence Vito Sr., a 20-year veteran of the Houma Police Department, died of heart complications at his home on Thursday, July 6, 2005. Funeral services were this afternoon. Vito, 63, also worked for the Terrebonne Parish District Attorney's office under the direction of district attorneys Doug Greenburg and Norval Rhodes. Following his retirement from law enforcement, he worked for Lowe's Home Improvement in Houma for four years. "While working for Lowe's, he had fallen. As a result, he fractured his shoulder, and it left him with tremors," his wife Nancy said. "He would shake so much, he didn't care to go in public. The last few years, he wouldn't go anywhere. I had recently persuaded him to go to the doctor, ... and he was scheduled to undergo some tests on his heart in the near future." Vito was born Sept. 19, 1941 in New Orleans and was raised on Klondyke Plantation. He received law-enforcement training in 1963, earning a certificate for completing both the Louisiana State University Law Enforcement Training course and the Houma Police Department Training School. In 1969, Vito completed his training for the Houma Police Academy. But he wasn't one to brag of his achievements, his wife said. "He was a very modest man ... he didn't want all of his certificates and awards in plain view in the house," she said. He was also a man determined to accomplish his goals. Nancy Vito cited this example: "When he first joined (the Houma Police Department) there was a height requirement for all officers. He wasn't the required height to be a policeman, so they stuffed his shoes with newspapers," she said. During his law-enforcement career, he earned several Police Officer of the Month awards as well as a certificate for his outstanding work in the District Attorney's Office. One of the greatest moments of his career occurred when he was named former President Ronald Reagan's bodyguard when Reagan came to Houma during a campaign stop in the mid-1980s. He retired from the Houma Police Department as chief of detectives in 1983. He and Nancy were married for 45 years. "I met him when I was 9 and he was 10," Nancy said. "When we first started dating ... he would hitch-hike to come see me." Vito was a family man who was devoted to his children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren, she said, adding that he particularly doted on the great- grandchildren. "He was a strict father and grandfather, but he was like marshmallow toast in his great-grandkids' hands, " Nancy said. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his mother, Mildred Soudilier Vito; two sons, Clarence Vito Jr. and Lonnie Vito and wife, Joann; one daughter, Suzanne Vito; four brothers, Alfred, Carl, David and Ricky Vito; six sisters, Azlie Vito, Genievie Vito, Shirley Naquin, Patsy Ledet, Marlene Naquin and Carole Lecompte; eight grandchildren, Natasha Vito, Ronny Hutchinson Jr., Lance Naquin, Candice Naquin, Lori Naquin, Lacy Vito, Lawrence Vito and Lindsey Vito; and four great-grandchildren, Abby Hutchinson, Ronny Jay Hutchinson, Isiah Billiot and Tayton Billiot. "He was well-known and a well-respected man," daughter Suzanne said.