Elton-Bruce Bertrand Garbarino, 91, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 9, 2013. Funeral services celebrating his life will be held on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at 11 a.m. at the Indian Bible Church, 3976 Powell Road, Elton, LA. Rev. John Cernek will officiate and he will be assisted by Mr. Garbarino's grandsons, Colin Garbarino and Troy Henderson. Burial with full military honors will follow in Liberty Cemetery under the direction of Ardoin Funeral Home.
The family will receive visitors on Friday evening between 5-9 p.m. at
Ardoin Funeral Home of Elton. A special time for sharing memories of Mr. Garbarino's life will begin at 7 p.m. Visitation will continue on Saturday morning at the funeral home from 8 a.m. until time of service.
Mr. Garbarino was born in Elton, Louisiana on November 26, 1921, the 3rd of 7 children, to Lezina and Bertrand Garbarino. He was married to Margaret Ella Schell of Port Arthur, Texas on December 18, 1946. She preceded him in death on June 30, 1993.They were the parents of five chidren-Linda Marie Henderson of Many, David Bruce Garbarino of Elton, Dona Susan Schwab of Baton Rouge, Vincent Paul Garbarino of Marriottsville, MD and Melissa Ann Verrett of Denham Springs. In addition to being survived by his five children, Mr. Garbarino has 14 grandsons and 3 granddaughters, as well as 16 great grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Ruth Horten of Tampa, Florida.
Mr. Garbarino was a World War II veteran and served in the Pacific Theater. Bruce was assigned to the 678th Bomb Squadron of the Army Air Corps and received military training for B-29 Mechanic. He served from October, 1942 to December, 1945 and was ranked as First Sergeant when he was discharged.
After the war, Bruce began his life-long career as a rice and soybean farmer. He also laid a majority of the irrigation pipe in Jeff Davis and Allen Parish as well as other parts of southwest Louisiana. Mr. Bruce, as he was fondly known, was well respected by family, friends and employees for his generosity and good character. He loved his life as a farmer and valued his role in a long line of descendants from the Garbarino and Bertrand families. Much of the land that he farmed had been in his family since the 1850's.
Mr. Garbarino is preceded in death by his parents, his wife, four sisters-Audrey Daugherty, Melba Hutchinson, Wilma Jacobs, and Loyce Steiner, and one brother- Med Garbarino.
Those serving as pallbearers are his grandsons, Paul Garbarino, James Garbarino, Joseph Garbarino, David Schwab, Brannon Schwab, Chris Verrett, Sean Verrett, and grandson-in-law, Dmitri Schornick. Honorary pallbearers include Rodney Manuel, Willis Courville, and Jasper James.
The family of Mr. Garbarino would like to extend a special thanks to Mrs. Margia Barrileaux for her devoted care to Mr. Bruce over the past 7 ½ years. They are also grateful to Mary Cormier and LaNell Trahan who were also caregivers for Mr. Bruce. The family appreciates the Southwest Louisiana War Veteran's Home for their care as well as Dr. Reynard Odenheimer who has been Mr. Garbarino's physician for the past 7 years.