1951 - 2024

After a yearlong, courageous battle with cancer, Robert W. Daigle entered into eternal rest on Sunday, October 20, 2024 at his residence in Lafayette with his loving family at his side. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at 3:00 PM with a eulogy shared beginning at 2:50 PM in St. Mary, Mother of the Church in Lafayette. Interment will be held in Holy Mary Mother of God Cemetery, Lafayette, LA. The family requests that visitation be observed on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 from 9:00 AM until 2:15 PM at Martin & Castille's DOWNTOWN location. A Rosary will be recited on Wednesday at 11:30 AM with eulogies shared by the family immediately following. Reverend Monsignor Keith J. DeRouen will be the Celebrant of the Funeral Mass and officiate the services. Reverend Andrew Schumacher will be the Concelebrant. Left to cherish his memory is his beloved wife, LeAnne Penny Daigle; his children, Dr. Jennifer Daigle Hanby and husband, Dr. Duncan Hanby, children Avery (14), Graham (13); Dr. Megan Daigle Kuriyan, and husband, Kavin Kuriyan, children Hudson (5), Zoe (4), Liam (1); Hailey Daigle Genin, and husband, Charlie Genin, children Caleb (6), Benson (3); and Jordan Daigle and wife, Anna-Corinne Mahtook Daigle, children Robert (1) and second child to be welcomed in May. Also survived by Cheryll Marse, the mother of his daughters, Jennifer and Megan; his brother, Kenny Daigle and wife, Kathy Daigle; sister, Karen Daigle Naomi and husband, PJ Naomi; brother-in-law Dave Broussard; mother-in-law Patricia Penny Landry and husband, Dr. Antime J. Landry; brothers-in-law Rusty Penny and Steve Penny and countless nieces and nephews that he loved so dearly. He was preceded in death by his parents, John Berchman and Lucille LeFleur Daigle; sister, Pam Daigle Duke Broussard and brother-in-law Lindell Duke; and father-in-law, Robert "Bob" Penny, Sr. For Robert, family was his world. His wife, LeAnne, was his heart. They loved each other fiercely; married for 31 years, their life was a true testament of love, trust, and happiness. There was not a day that went by that he was not doting over his wife and the family they created. Robert was an incredible father and pushed everyone around him to be the best they could be, especially his children. He was supportive of all of their dreams and career aspirations, as long as they promised not to go to law school! Robert graduated from Fatima High School, attended USL, and graduated from LSU Law School. His first year out of law school, he clerked for US Federal District Judge Thomas Stagg. Following his time as a clerk, Robert began to practice law in 1976 at Davidson, Meaux, Onebane. From there, he continued his career at Onebane Donohoe in 1977 until he and his partners established Perret, Doise, Daigle, Longman, Russo in 1987. Along the road, Robert realized his true passion lied in real estate development, and in 1996 started his first project: River Ranch. He went on to develop numerous projects, including Sugar Mill Pond and West Village, which he was able to do alongside his business partner and son, Jordan. In his 28-years of real estate development, he truly changed the landscape of our community, earning numerous accolades, including American Planning Association President's Award for the most outstanding master planned project in Louisiana, Times of Acadiana Business Hall of Fame, and was voted one of the most powerful people on the I-10/I-12 Corridor. Robert served on many foundations, some of which included LSU Academic Foundation, Board of Directors for LSU Law School, UL Athletic Foundation Chairman, Lafayette General Membership Board, and a Chairman of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. While Robert was an incredible business man, his greatest loves in life were his family and his faith. Robert was a devout Catholic who attended mass daily. His faith in God reflected in his life as he was a true testimony of an honorable, compassionate, humble, loving man. Robert's joys in life included donut Sunday, every Sunday, with all 8 of his grandchildren in his backyard, weeknight family dinners around his table, and quality time hanging out at his cabin in the mountains. In his free time, he enjoyed tennis, snow skiing, watching football with family, and enjoying a spectacular glass of wine. Robert loved his community and its people immensely, quietly giving to many charitable causes.

In loving memory of John Liles. 

John’s impact on our tennis community was great. John didn’t begin tennis until the age of thirty-five. He entered the league as a 3.5 and was bumped to 4.0 for a short time. He always said with a laugh, “didn’t stay there long.” John captained 3.5 Men’s teams for over eight years. One of his most memorable captaining times was during a State Regional Championship in Slidell. Three of his players took a “wrong turn” and ended up in New Orleans. This created a silent and very anxious time for the next day, the 8am match. They did show up at 7:30, maybe a little intoxicated, but nonetheless John put them in the line-up, and they won! 

John’s team won State in 1990. They went on to win Sectionals in Chattanooga and placed 3rd at Nationals in Tucson. Over the years John and his teams played in several state championships, but not in any other Sectional or National tournaments.

In 1986 John was one of the founding members of the Northwest Louisiana Community Tennis Association and served as its Treasurer. He served on countless and various local committees and always assisted as needed with any programs. The NWLACTA has been recognized many times as CTA of the Year by the LTA and there is no doubt the NWLACTA would not have had such success if it was not for the hard work and leadership of John.

In 1993, John was asked if Shreveport would be interested in taking over a national tournament that needed a new home. This proved to be a great decision and implementation. The National 16’s Intersectional Championships began in Shreveport during July 1994. The tournament was held for 26 years until covid affected the funding and it had to be discontinued. 

John was a certified tennis official for over twenty years. He officiated for juniors, USTA League, and college matches over his career. He volunteered his referee services for many junior matches. 

John’s involvement in the local tennis community continued and he was elected to serve on the USTA Louisiana Board of Directors as the NW Regional Representative in 1995. He also served as Vice President and Executive Vice President. In 2002-2003, he served as President of USTA Louisiana and began volunteering at the USTA Southern Section.

He chaired, co-chaired and has been a member of the following committees: 

Southern and National USTA – Awards Committee for eight years

Southern USTA - Financial & Budget, Investment, Community Development, Adaptive Tennis, Awards, CGPG, CTA, Human Resources, Marketing, and Public Relations Committees

Southern USTA Board of Directors Treasurer for six years

Local CTA - League Coordinator, Treasurer, where he led and served on various committees, trained coordinators and was always an invaluable resource to the local tennis community

In 1997 John received the LTA’s prestigious Charles Turner Volunteer Service Award, The President’s Award in 2006, the Charlie B. Morris Jr. Service Award in recognition of his service at the local, state, section and national levels of the USTA in 2015, and in 2019, John was inducted into the Louisiana Tennis Hall of Fame.

John was a no nonsense straight up individual. He spoke his mind and even those who may disagree with him on a topic would all agree he always demonstrated the highest level of character. This was evident in his on-court sportsmanship as well as in his off-court leadership and participation at all levels of USTA activity. John was a wealth of knowledge and information and an invaluable resource to our tennis community. Although health issues slowed him down in recent years, John continued to support tennis at the local and state level. John Liles was a vital and important part of the NWLA CTA, LTA, Southern USTA, and USTA. We will all cherish our memories with John. His impact on our tennis community will always be present and we are forever grateful.

Please keep John’s wife Nancy and his extended family in your prayers.