Clarice Marie Tilleux

Grand Cane, LA Services for Marie Tilleux Davis of Grand Cane will be held at the Smyrna Presbyterian Church on Sunday, April 30. Visitation will begin at 1:00 p.m. followed by a funeral service at 2:00 p.m. and Interment in Smyrna Cemetery. Marie passed away after a lengthy illness at the place of her birth in the Smyrna Community on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at the age of 86. Marie was a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, teacher, and art enthusiast. Marie was born on March 13, 1931 to Clarice Vivian "Tip" McMichael Tilleux and Albert Emerson Tilleux. Her education was received in the public schools of DeSoto and Caddo Parishes. She graduated from C. E. Byrd High School where she was a proud member of the Hall of Fame. In 1953 she received a B.A. degree in Art from Northwestern Louisiana University. She later earned a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She attended Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond to renew her teaching certificate in 1973 and she was later employed by the Tangipahoa Parish School Board to teach art with the parish migrant program. She was assigned to Hammond High School in 1974 to initiate an art curriculum where she taught for nearly 25 years. In recognition of her service to the arts, Marie has received numerous awards including the Louisiana Art Education Association's Retired Art Educator of the Year, and the National Art Education Association's Retired Educator of the Year, Throughout her life, Marie was actively dedicated to the Smyrna Presbyterian Church, First Presbyterian Church in Hammond, La., her family, her community, and many professional organizations including scouting, United Way, AAUW, Hammond Art Guild, Association of Women in the Arts, DeSoto Arts Council, Hoover Watercolor Society, The Barnwell Center, and the Hemerocallis Study Club Ark-La-Tex Area. Marie is survived by her loving husband of 63 years, Lawrence Houston Davis, six children Diane Baringer (Dale), Paul Davis (Susan), Lee Davis, Martha Fontcuberta (Tom), Ellen Place (Larry), Thomas Davis (Rachel), fifteen grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and her sister, Betty Jo Tilleux Breaux (Allen) and nieces and nephews. Marie was preceded in death by her grandmother, Bessie Billingsley McMichael, her parents, Clarice Vivian "Tip" and Albert E. "Al" Tilleux, her brother, Gerald Tilleux, one grandchild, Mae Ellen Burke, and one great-grandchild, Stephen Lloyd Smith. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Evergreen Life Services, 2101 Hwy. 80, Haughton, LA 71037 or evergreenls.org.