Odell Voth

June 9, 1924 - June 9, 2011

Home » Obituaries Print this story ShareThisPost A Comment Odell Voth Published/Last Modified on Friday, June 10, 2011 1:06 AM CDT Odell Voth, 87, a resident of Bogalusa, passed away Thursday, June 9, 2011 in Lafayette. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 11 at Brown-McGehee Funeral Home in Bogalusa. The Reverend Marcus Rosa of Westside Emmanuel Baptist Church will conduct the services and vocal selections will be provided by Odell’s niece, Paige Williams Fornea. Burial will follow in Ponemah Cemetery. He is survived by his children, Tim Edward Voth of Bellaire, Texas, Suzanne Lyndall Voth Busby of Bogalusa, Rickey Claude (Connie Seal) Voth of Broussard and Gary Bryan (Lori Cromer) Voth of Baton Rouge; his grandchildren: Bruce “Trey” (Jennifer Irvin) Alford III of Mt. Hermon, Kristi Alford Miller of Bogalusa, Caroline Voth (Roy) Johnston of Houston, Juliana Catherine Voth and her fiance’ Shaun Sullivan of Campbell, Calif., and Bryant Martin Voth and Leah Catherine Voth of Baton Rouge: his great-grandchildren: Devyn, Alexis, Jonathan, Isabella, Savannah, Logan, Justice, Amaya, Lea’ Auna and another on the way; his sister, Marie Voth Hines of Bogalusa and in-laws Marie Bryant Bellavance of Grovetown, Ga., Shelby Jean Bryant (Elude) Williams of Angie, Charles (Carolyn) Bryant of Improve, Miss.; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Rita Von Bryant Voth; his parents, Claude and Myrtha Mizell Voth; his sister and brother-in-law, Glynn Voth (Dugy) Watts, his brother, Roy Voth; his parents-in-law, Shelby and Carrie Lee Graham Bryant; his son-in-law. Bruce Alford II; his sister-in-law, Oneita Bryant Johnson; his brothers-in-law, Leonard Hines and Bob Bellavance; and his niece, Kay Bryant. Advertisement Odell was born in Isabel on June 27, 1923 and grew up in Bogalusa. Rita and he were married on July 17, 1945, a union of 64 years. They lived and raised their family in Bogalusa. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, working in the mail room much of his time in the service. Before and after his tour of duty, he was employed by the U.S. Postal Service, retiring as Postmaster in Bogalusa after 42 years with the Post Office, an accomplishment of which he was very proud. He delivered mail on foot for many years and could name the street address of almost anyone in Bogalusa. Most of his co-workers knew him as Poncho. All during his life Odell stayed busy with his many pastimes. He enjoyed wood-working, watching sports on TV, visiting with friends and relatives and just tinkering with tools and fixing things at home and at their camp, which was fondly named Poncho Villa. But probably his favorite hobby, which he enjoyed with his sweetheart Rita, was gardening. They were proud to share with friends, neighbors and family the fruits of their labor — their canned and fresh vegetables, pickles, mayhaw jelly and blueberry pies. Even In recent months, Odell planted a garden, made mayhaw jelly and even took a keen interest in gourds — growing gourds and collecting seeds of different varieties of gourds and reading about decorating gourds. He also enjoyed spending time with his children, grandchildren and other relatives. Odell was very gentle, kind, witty and loving man and will be missed by many. The family requests that visiting hours be observed Friday, June 10 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and from 8 a.m. until time of the service at 11 a.m. Pallbearers will include Roy Johnston, Shaun Sullivan, Cole Fornea, Blake Fornea and Mike Johnson. Memorial contributions may be made to Westside Emmanuel Baptist Church, 1107 W 9th St., Bogalusa 70427 or to one’s favorite