Joseph J. Besselman “Junior”

Joseph J. Besselman, Junior, died from complications with COVID19.  He was 83.  He grew up literally on the Cities Service complex in St. Rose outside New Orleans, which for any kid was a paradise, where he learned to operate and fix machinery, hot-wire bulldozers, which was a valuable skill he later used while a freshman at LSU, and raise cattle, the latter of which was his lifelong hobby and occasional business with his brothers.  His father, Joseph, now deceased and formerly of Titusville, PA, ran the complex for many decades, but make no mistake, his mother, also deceased, the former Lea Fourroux of New Orleans, ran the family and imparted the skill of the raconteur to varying degrees on each of her sons, Joe, Jim of New Orleans, now deceased, and Tom of Baton Rouge.  While his brothers attended Holy Cross, Joe graduated from Jesuit of New Orleans and went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree from LSU in Animal Science, where he also spent time on the Boxing team before LSU terminated the program and was active in Block and Bridle, where he considered it an instructive experience for his lifetime hobby, particularly his very brief dalliance with a bull, where he said he learned painfully in less than a second he had no future as a bull rider.  While at LSU he married the former Joan McDonnell of St. Rose and Titusville, PA, now deceased, and they began to raise a family that would become five children, Joe the 3rd of Montgomery, AL, and his wife, Beth, Catherine Huebscher of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, and her husband, Hendrik, Charles of Baton Rouge and his wife, Laurie, Michael of St. Amant and his wife, Amy, and Susie Rupert of Austin, TX, and her husband Rick.  After LSU he did his mandatory stint as an officer in the Army, returned to LSU for his Masters Degree in Food Science, and then he embarked on more than 50 years working in the food industry.

Joe’s work in the food industry first took him to Chicago where he did food research for Armour Meats, often using his family as test subjects for future products, and five years later, not satisfied the Chicago Winters were sufficiently cold, he moved further north where he joined Schweigert Meat Company in Minneapolis and then later led the meat operations for Green Giant.  In his free time it was all “God, Guns, and Guts,” with John Wayne and Sergio Leone Westerns along with reading about World War Two and attending his kids sporting events as his favorite recreations.  After about 10 years in the oppressively cold North, he joined forces with his brothers to open a meat business and raise cattle in Gonzales, LA, and the family was finally back in Louisiana.  Here Joe would work for almost 35 more years, finishing up the work part of his life with Mandas in Baton Rouge while continuing to raise cattle with his brother Tom outside Natchez, MS.

Next to family and Country, Joe’s Catholic faith was very important.  At every stop in his life his local priest was an important component of the family as well as supporting the local parish, including at different times teaching catechism, running the paper drive, or cleaning the church on Saturdays.  Starting with Father Rubertes in Elmhurst, IL, then there was Father Blaine Barr in New Hope, MN, where the famous Catholic singer and composer Mike Joncas ran the music program, making every Sunday a concert that often overshadowed the mass, and finally in St. Amant, LA, with Fathers Gene Ingles, Donald Blanchard and particularly Father Tom Ranzino, the latter of whom has been close to the family for over three decades and even married off two of Joe’s granddaughters.

The most important part of Joe’s life has been the great women that helped him live a great life.  His wife, Joan, died much too early.  They met in St. Rose and were sweethearts from their school days.  She was his first love and the girl next door, literally.  For the last 17 years of his life, he has been guided by the loving and caring hand of Helen Hebert, and grew fond bonds with her daughters Belinda and Tammy.

In closing, one of his favorite joys was hanging with his grandchildren and great grandchildren, all of whom he called by unique names.  Some examples were ChumChum, Blondie, T-Beth, Bug, Me-Too, Smiley, Lulu, Rickie-Boy, and Chucker-Boy.  Joe is survived by 17 grandchildren (Lindsey, Amanda, Taylor, Madison, Abby, Hannah, Lena, Mia, Little Charlie, Brown, Ben, Rachel, Michael, Claire, Laurel, Mary, and Ricky) and six great granddaughters (Mae Baldwin, Celie, Edie, Coco, Dorothy, and Elenor).

In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to donate to the parish’s Full of Grace Café, where you can honor Joe’s spirit by helping those in need.

A service will be held Saturday, December 19th, 11 a.m. CST, at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in St. Amant, LA.  The family urges caution and safety at the service.  Masks will be required at the church.  For those that cannot attend, there are plans to stream the service for remote participation.