Mr. O’Hern Vincent Dufour, a retired teacher and textbook salesman, passed away on Monday, January 25, 2016. He was 95 years young. Mr. Dufour was born in Plaucheville, Louisiana on May 15, 1920 to Curtis and Lovenia Dufour. In October 1940, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and began his service aboard the U.S.S. Preston. During World War II he saw action in both the Pacific and Atlantic Theaters. He was very proud of his active military service and remained in the Naval Reserves until his retirement in 1978. After being discharged from active duty in 1946, he returned to Louisiana where he completed his undergraduate degree at Northwestern State College of Louisiana.  He then went on to LSU where he received a post graduate degree in Education. It was at LSU that he met his wife Marie Isabel “Tessie” Schexnaidre and they were married on August 14, 1948. He taught for over twenty years in the Port Arthur, TX school system before moving to Alexandria, LA and going to work for Harper and Row Publishers as a textbook salesman. He lived in Alexandria, LA for over thirty years before retiring and moving to New Orleans and then to Alexandria, VA to be near family. Mr. Dufour was a devoted Catholic, and served with the Ushers Society at St. Frances Cabrini Church and St. Louis Cathedral. Duffy was a member of the Knights of Columbus, The Order of The Holy Sepulchre, and the Kent House Board of Directors and conducted tours in French at both Lloyd Hall in Cheneyville, LA and the Ursuline Convent in New Orleans.
Mr. Dufour was preceded in death by his wife of fifty years, Tessie Dufour, daughters Carol Marie Dufour and Lucy Marie Dufour, and sons Christopher Joseph Dufour and Richard Patrick Dufour. He is survived by his daughter Mary M. Dufour (Linda Scott) of Arlington, VA, three sons, David V. Dufour (Susan) of Fort Worth, TX, Paul J. Dufour (Linda) of Watertown, TN and Philip G. Dufour (Todd Andochick) of Washington DC, five grandchildren, Celeste Lord, Jane Dufour, Sarah Dufour, Daniel Dufour, and Clark Dufour and three great-grandchildren. In his final years, he received care from the devoted staff at The Fountains at Washington House.
A visitation and funeral mass will be held on Thursday, February 11, 2016, at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 1427 W. Braddock Rd., Alexandria, VA. The visitation will begin at 10:30 am with the mass to follow at 11:30 am. Interment will be at Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport, LA, on Saturday, March 26 at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you donate to St. Frances Cabrini Endowment Fund, 2215 Texas Avenue, Alexandria, LA 71301 or a charity of your choice. If you are interested in sharing memories of Duffy, or getting in touch with his family, please email duffy@dufourandco.com .