Murphy Joseph Sellers

Abbeville - Murphy J. “Red” Sellers, 98, of Abbeville, passed away Saturday, March 5, 2016 at Maison du Monde nursing home, where he had been a resident for the past four years.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday, March 9, at 10:00 am at David Funeral Home, Abbeville, followed by burial in St. Mary Magdalene Cemetery.  Rev. Gregory Cormier will officiate.

Visitation will be from 10 am to 9 pm Tuesday, March 8, and from 8 am Wednesday until the service.  A Rosary will be said at 7 pm Tuesday.

Mr. Sellers was preceded in death by his parents Joseph Socrates and Odelia “Ricket” Laplace Sellers, sister Lucille Sellers Gooch, wife of 40 years Ouida Lege Sellers, and great-granddaughter Chloe Anne Sellers.

He is survived by two sons, Murphy GerardSellers and wife Joel Marie of New Orleans, and Paul Oreo Sellers and wife Cynthia of Cameron; two grandchildren, Alyssa Michelle Sellers of Portland, OR, and Michael Oreo Sellers and wife Erica; two great-grandchildren Claire Michelle and Macie Annalise Sellersall of Tomball, TX; nephew Robert “Bobby” Gooch and wife Bobbie, nieces Claire Steen and husband Jimmy, and Kim Guidry and husband Norman, all of Abbeville.

Pallbearers will be Francis Plaisance, Michael Sellers, Bobby Gooch, Robbie Gooch, Jimmy Steen, Randy Dubois, and Norman Guidry.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to any charity.

Red was born in Cow Island and as a child moved with his family to Abbeville.  He graduated from Abbeville High School in 1936 and immediately went to work for Semmes Sagrera at the Sagrera Hotel on Chenier Au Tigre.  Red said that “in those days of depression you couldn’t buy a job.  So when a fella offered you a job, you took it.”  He did whatever was necessary, seining for fish, gathering oysters from the oyster reefs, picking cotton, helping to milk cows, clean rooms, feed pigs, etc.  His salary was $15 a month.

His father was working for Louisiana Furs at the time.  When he got sick the company hired Red to help him with the work.  His salary increased to a dollar a day.  When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he was trapping muskrat at Belle Isle Ridge.  He finished the trapping season and went to work in Houma pulling chain on a survey crew before deciding to join up.

During WWII Red served as a Coast Guardsmen in New Orleans and later in New York, training soldiers and sailors on boarding and operating Higgins landing craft.  He was due to be shipped overseas when the war ended.

After traveling to New York, Red decided he’d seen enough of the world, and decided to stay in Abbeville and work at Vermillion Corporation where he later became Field Supervisor, retiring after 50 years of service.  That didn’t keep him from appearing on National Public Radio in the 1980’s with his son Gerard on a new program just starting out titled “Weekend Edition with Scott Simon.”  The subject was something he knew about: “The Disappearing Wetlands.”

He also appeared in “Alligator Hunters: A Louisiana Legacy,” which aired across the US on National Public Broadcasting, and in a 1998 National Geographic publication titled “America’s Hidden Corners.”  He also appeared in “A Stranger in a Strange Land,” which aired on Japanese Television in 2004.

In his later years Red retired to Abbeville where he was to oversee his rental properties, raise chickens, and care for his ailing wife.  He belonged to St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Catholic Church and was amember of American Legion Post 29 for 72 years.

David Funeral Home of Abbeville, 2600 Charity Street, (337) 893-3777 will be handling the arrangements.