Dr. Oscar Joseph "Joe" Bienvenu, Jr.

“In nothing do men more nearly approach the gods than in giving health to men.”--Cicero Dr. Oscar Joseph Bienvenu, Jr., 84, of Natchitoches, Louisiana, passed away after a lengthy illness from complications of Alzheimer’s disease on Monday, December 15, 2014 in the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center. Joe was born on January 5, 1930 in Opelousas, Louisiana. He received a year of premedical training at the Southwestern Louisiana Institute in Lafayette, then went on to receive his B.S. degree from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1950 and his M.D. degree from Tulane in 1954. His did an internship at Montreal General Hospital and a residency in internal medicine at the Veterans Administration Hospital in New Orleans. He then entered the U. S. Naval Training Center in Bainbridge, Maryland, as a lieutenant and for two years served as a military physician. Following a second residency at Tulane University Hospital, he began practicing medicine at the Lallie Kemp Charity Hospital in Independence, Louisiana. He also had a part-time private practice in Hammond during this period. In 1963, he became a staff physician in the Department of Cardiology at Ochsner Clinic and Foundation Hospital in New Orleans, where he remained until 1978 when he moved to Natchitoches. At Ochsner, he created the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. After moving to Natchitoches, he started the Intensive Care Unit at the Natchitoches Parish Hospital. From 1960 until 1979, he held faculty status at the Tulane University School of Medicine and from 1994-96 was an instructor at the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport. His interest in the mind-body connection in healing ultimately led him into the field of psychiatry. After a residency in psychiatry at the LSU Medical School in Shreveport (1993-94), Joe became full-time staff physician at the Natchitoches Mental Health Clinic where he worked until his retirement in 2005 at the age of 75. He especially enjoyed the work he did at the Mansfield Mental Health Clinic during this same period. Joe held memberships in a number of professional and social organizations, holding offices in many of these. He was especially active in the Louisiana Heart Association. In New Orleans, he was a member of various carnival groups, the New Orleans Lawn and Tennis Club, the Men’s Opera Club, the Sons and Daughters of the Founders of New Orleans, the Pendennis Club, and was a board member of the New Orleans Opera House Association. In Natchitoches, he was a member of the Rotary Club, a board member of the Louisiana Outdoor Drama Association, and a member of various Christmas Festival committees. Joe was preceded in death by his father, Dr. Oscar Joseph Bienvenu; his mother, Blanche Guilbeau Bienvenu; and his brothers, Dr. Dudley L. Bienvenu and Charles A. Bienvenu. He is survived by his beloved wife of 53 years, Marion Watson Bienvenu; his daughter, Marianne Steckler and her husband, Shaun David Steckler of Lafayette; his daughter, Eugenie Murray-Brown, and her husband, Andrew James Murray-Brown of Hingham, Massachusetts; his son, Dr. Oscar Joseph Bienvenu III, and his wife, Holly Tominack of Baltimore, Maryland; and his daughter, Blanche Elise Bienvenu of Baton Rouge; five grandchildren: Tristan Joseph Steckler, Brayden Youree Steckler, Oliver James Murray-Brown, Christian Jeremy Murray-Brown, and Isabel Chopin Murray-Brown; numerous nieces and nephews; and his sister-in-law, Eugenie Chopin of Johannesburg, South Africa. Many of Joe’s friends and associates considered him a Renaissance man. As a physician, he was an astute diagnostician and internist, perhaps the best in Natchitoches during the late 1970s and throughout the ‘80s. He carried out medical research on hypertension, depression, panic disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease and published a number of articles on his research in medical journals. He was an educator; in addition to teaching at both Tulane and the LSU Medical School, he offered courses in CPR across Louisiana in the 1970s under the auspices of the Louisiana Heart Association. He was on the national faculty of the American Heart Association, travelling all over the country giving CPR courses at major medical meetings. He was also a lover of opera, a painter whose wall murals of bucolic scenes graced several of his homes and even a Front Street restaurant in Natchitoches, an enthusiastic piano player, and an avid reader with broad tastes. He enjoyed reading everything from theology and philosophy to poetry and fiction. He and several friends and family members once built a marionette theater with elaborate sets and costumes and performed, to great acclaim, the final act of Puccini’s opera “Tosca” for the Shreveport Opera Guild. During his final years, he wrote extensively about his life growing up in Opelousas; he was keenly interested in the Bienvenu family history. He was especially proud of his speaking role as one of Shelby’s physicians in “Steel Magnolias;” he enjoyed entertaining friends at parties by recreating that role and reciting, with appropriate gusto, his one line from the film. Joe was a unique individual with a boundless zest for life that was infectious. He was a devoted husband to his wife Marion. He adored his children and took delight in his five grandchildren. He loved to give parties with fanciful themes; one could always expect the unexpected when attending a party at the Bienvenu home. “Dr. Joe” was devoted to the Alcoholics Anonymous program and could be found at the Tuesday meetings for many years. He was tireless in his efforts to help alcoholics and would share his experience, strength, and hope with them so they might recover from alcoholism. Joe was a devout Roman Catholic. His religious faith informed his whole life. He was a member of both Holy Cross and Immaculate Conception and served as reader at both of these churches. He was Head of the Parish Council at Holy Cross for 15 years and was the first president of The Vocations Club of Natchitoches. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, December 17, 2014, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home Chapel with recitation of the Holy Rosary at 7:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at The Minor Basilica of The Immaculate Conception on Thursday, December 18, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. with Fr. Ryan Humphries serving as principal celebrant. Burial will be at The Catholic Cemetery following mass. Pallbearers will be Shaun Steckler, Tristan Steckler, Brayden Steckler, Dudley L. Bienvenu, Charles A. Bienvenu, and Paul Bienvenu. Honorary pallbearers will be Chris Allen, Russell “Buddy” Gahagan, Jim Bob Key, Tom F. Kramer, Russell Leach, Dr. Donald Pavy, Dr. Fraser Snowden, James Durham and Dr. Stephen Wheat. The Bienvenu family wishes to thank Joe’s caregivers, helpers, and friends over the past several years for all of their gracious comfort, support, and love: Karen Helaire, Jenaye Robinson, Susie Kemps, Tiffany Valentine, and Christina Lockhart, as well as Al Anthony, Jr., Joe and Julia Oliphant, and Betty and Robert Woodard. The family is grateful to the staff members of Stat Home Health Center who were so supportive during Joe’s lengthy illness. Thanks also to Dr. Stephen Wheat, Dr. Otis Barnum, the Extended Care Unit at Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, and to Eve James, Dian Snowden, and Joan Gahagan, special friends who were devoted to Joe up until the end of his life. Memorial donations in Joe’s name may be made to Holy Cross Catholic Church, 126 2nd Street, Natchitoches, LA 71457 or The Minor Basilica of The Immaculate Conception, 145 Church Street Natchitoches, LA 71457.