Lyla Sophie Nugent

Avery Island - A Celebration of Life for Lyla Sophie Nugent, 17, will be held at 11:00AM on Monday, February 17, 2025 at The Grove on Avery Island.  Interment will follow at The Grove on Avery Island.

There will be a gathering of family and friends at The Grove on Avery Island beginning at 10:00AM until the time of the service.

A native and resident of Lafayette, Lyla died Saturday, February 8, 2025 at Avery Island.  Lyla was the most giving and passionate young woman. She had a sense of self that was so astonishing for such a young person. She had a backbone of steel and would stand up for someone when no one else would. She would never cater to the “Masses,” she would never back down to “Peer Pressure.”

The best thing of all is she had “Common Sense “, this is not taught, you must be born with it. She knew what was important in life, her family (her parents, John and Virginia; her brother, JohnWarren; and her dog Winnie), and all her friends and the people she met that she loved with every beat of her heart! She was loyal, tactful, and she taught her family much as they guided her along her journey of Life. She was strong willed, her family always thought she’d be a great litigator, but that’s not what she wanted. She wanted to help people as a doctor. Anyone who knew her knew how kind and intuitive she was to others and their feelings.  Lyla had so many wonderful attributes!

She was very protective of the people she loved, especially her brother JohnWarren, she loved him so much and he loves her! Lyla was very goofy, and she loved the outdoors.  She loved to skeet shoot with her father and fish on Avery Island and in the mountains in Cashiers North Carolina.

She was so coordinated, she was left-handed and played golf with her right hand, and when she would play soccer, she shot with her left foot, but shot a shotgun with her right hand. She loves soccer, but what she really loves was basketball and playing outside throwing football with her father. Once at the beach Lyla was throwing the football with her father, and he was asked where she learned to throw like that. They couldn’t believe a young girl like that could throw a football as well as she did. She loved the water and riding the waves at the beach. She excelled in everything and had many accomplishments, she even got into Ole Miss’ early acceptance, her parents were so proud. She loved Avery Island so much. It was like her second home. She loved everything about it. She was an amazing driver, she could back up a car into a parking spot with ease, it was evident her dad taught her how to drive. She was so excited about going to Ole Miss, going through rush, making new friends and making new memories and starting a new chapter of her wonderful life.

Lyla played soccer and was very good at it!  She played from her freshman year till her junior year. Lyla went on a mission trip with her school, St. Thomas More to Puerto Rico, she truly was blessed for that opportunity to go with all her friends and the experience, everything they did really made a difference in her core.

Lyla was honored for a poem that she wrote for an English class at St. Thomas More. It was called “The Hurt”, the National Writing Project of Acadiana honored her poem and published it on their website!

She was honored in the 11th grade for the academic pep rally, and as a Champion in 2024  the breakfast of champions.

She is survived by her parents, John Cory Nugent and Virginia McIlhenny Nugent of Lafayette; a brother, JohnWarren McIlhenny Nugent of Lafayette; maternal grandfather, Edmund McIlhenny and his wife Pam McIlhenny of Austin; maternal Grandmother, Brenda Fenner of New Orleans; paternal grandmother, Betty Nugent of Lafayette and a host of aunts, uncle, and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her maternal step grandfather, Charles Fenner and paternal grandfather, Warren Nugent.

Serving as pallbearers will be Lucas Judice, Stephen Ankenbauer, Jackson Porter, Ashton Porter, Andre Bodin, and Rick Ojeda

Serving as honorary pallbearer will be Townes Ankenbauer.

Frioux-David Funeral Home of New Iberia at 1101 Trotter St. (337)369-6336 will be handling the arrangement.