Oakdale-Celebration of Life services honoring Virgie Marie Carneal Ardoin, 91, will be held at 11 o'clock a.m. on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at Friendship Baptist Church in Pine Prairie. Bros. Josh Dickson, Ferran Bertrand, and Eddie Douglas will officiate. Virgie will be laid to rest at Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery in Pine Prairie immediately following her services.

Virgie's family will receive friends and visitors at Friendship Baptist Church in Pine Prairie on Tuesday evening, July 16, 2024, from 4-8  o'clock p.m. Virgie's visitation will resume at Friendship Baptist Church on Wednesday morning, July 17, 2024, from 9 o'clock a.m. until time of service. All of Virgie's arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Ardoin/Allen Parish Funeral Home of Oakdale.

Virgie Marie Carneal was born on August 28, 1932. Her parents, Virgil, Ada and two older sisters – Betty Lou and Dorothy, welcomed her into their share-cropper's cottage near Clarksville, Tennessee. Steady work was scarce, even in the tobacco fields where labor was long on hours and short on pay but they survived. The fourth sister - Susan was born into the family when Virgie was four. Soon Virgil and Ada decided to find better work and pay in the coal mines of Oklahoma and Kansas. Ada was original to that area where her family ran a boarding house near Picher, Oklahoma. The work was as grueling as the tobacco fields, with the same long hours and low pay but also added dangers to the health of the miners. As "fortune" would have it, Virgil met a man who needed a manager for his small farm in Louisiana. He accepted that offer, packed all his material goods, his wife and four daughters into his pickup truck and headed for Turkey Creek, Louisiana. Virgie was beginning the fourth grade when the family arrived at their home in the "piney woods". It was a different community and the excitement led them to explore the neighborhood and make many new friends at school. Though she and her three sisters no longer had cousins to play with, they all quickly adapted. The sisters were collectively known as "those Carneal girls" -partly because they were all pretty, partly because they were so popular but also because they could be quite mischievous. Virgie enjoyed the company of one boy in particular from school. J D Ardoin was three years older, had his own horse and was a real charmer. After he graduated from high school, he asked Virgie to marry him. Having her own family meant more to Virgie than education at that time, so she said "YES". For the next twenty-plus years they worked hard, played hard and enjoyed a growing family on a very tight, but well managed budget. As the last of their four children started school, Virgie decided that she wanted to do more to help support her family. She began work at a local grocery store where she also helped with the meat processing. She soon recognized her real interest was in working with people. Her skills of wrapping fresh meat, making boudin and being a general manager were exceptional and gave her the opportunity to get to know people. As if her work outside the home were not enough, Virgie became an expert seamstress – not only hand-sewing most of her daughters' clothes but also as an avid fabric crafts designer and an award-winning quilt maker. J D was a hard-working and dedicated operator and supervisor for a road construction company, but he longed to be home with his family on their small farm. Unfortunately, for his family, illness took his life at a very early age – 55. This left Virgie concerned that she was now the sole provider for her home. Realizing that she had only experience- not the education to get a decent job, she investigated, studied, and accomplished her High School Equivalency degree – at age 53. She soon heard about a job opening at school – Cafeteria Clerk. She applied and got the job! Virgie's life seemed full and busy with her job and family but she somehow managed to find time to feed her passion for travel. Her commitment to education through travel guided her to join several organized groups and to encourage her own family to learn about people and places. As usual, Virgie's interests had very few borders, so her journeys led her to visit and explore all the "lower forty-eight states", Mexico and Canada. She especially enjoyed touring Washington D. C. Virgie often was credited with inspiring friends and family to "get out and see the world". After fourteen years of reminding young students about lunch money and table manners, Virgie retired, only to seek another job, this time as Reservation Manager at the local recreational park. She was in constant contact with people of many backgrounds and thoroughly enjoyed the associated challenges. After ten years of meeting and greeting campers and fishermen, Virgie again retired. Work in her church had always been important to Virgie and now she had more time to dedicate to the task. Her devotion to serving people in all walks was evident as she celebrated fifty-five years of teaching the ladies of the Sunday school class and then trained her own replacement. She also served the local Woodmen of the World Camp # 561 as its treasurer beginning in 1965. She passed that job to her daughter in 2022 only to become the President of the camp – a position she holds today. One of her favorite events as part of the camp was to coordinate and present gifts to the residents at the local nursing home each year for Christmas - an annual event since 1994. Virgie held a deep and abiding respect for her civic duties and obligations. She sought the training and wanted constant involvement of the local political election process. She proudly served her parish as election commissioner and commissioner-in-charge for more than twenty years. Even as she grew older and less able to perform physical tasks, Virgie has continued to inspire all those around her. Her four children, seven grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren have witnessed many acts of leadership, bravery, charity, and kindness – examples of what folks can do to make life better for those around them.

Those left to cherish Virgie's memory include one son, Thomas "Tom" Ardoin, three daughters, Donna Jo Dardeau and husband Dickey, Alice Fontenot, and Carolyn Deville and husband Donald Ray; one sister, Susan Shirey and husband Charles; seven grandchildren, seventeen great grandchildren, two great-great grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, and friends.

Virgie is preceded in death by her husband, J.D. Ardoin; her parents, Virgil, and Ada Carneal; and two sisters, Dorothy Campbell, and Betty Lou Johnson.

In lieu of flowers, Virgie's family has requested donations be made in her memory to the charity of your choice.

Condolences and words of comfort may be shared with Virgie's family at www.ardoinfuneralhome.com or on Facebook at Ardoin/Allen Parish Funeral Homes.