|
|
|
|
A HISTORY OF THE LOVELESS THERIOT FAMILYBy Mrs. Dorothy Theriot Concienne
Loveless Theriot was the son of Charles Adolph Theriot and Celestine Millet, born on February 11, 1901, in Kaplan, Louisiana. Later, however, when Loveless was still quite young, the family moved to Grand Chenier, Louisiana, where he grew to adulthood. He was the youngest of a family of eleven children. In 1917, an older brother, Elodias Theriot, moved to Port Neches to work for the Texaco asphalt plant. A year later, all the sons in the family, including Loveless, moved to Port Neches, and he also went to work for the asphalt plant. After working there for three months, he decided that that was not what he wished to do with his life, so he quit. He then joined the army at age eighteen, weighing only 112 pounds. However, the army required that he weigh a minimum of 118 pounds. He had to stay in the barracks and eat for two weeks until he eventually reached the required weight. (Ed.'s Note: W. T. Block attended the Golden Wedding celebration of Adolph and Celestine Theriot at St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church in Port Neches in 1929 when he was only nine years old.) After Loveless Theriot served his enlistment in the army, he went to California for three years, where he worked in restaurants and cafes. After returning to Texas, he heard about a barber school in Houston that had as its motto - "Earn While You Learn" - and he decided to try that. That was to become Loveless' livelihood for his entire life. First he started out in Port Neches; then in 1924 he moved to Nederland to work for Mr. Chestnut, who had a barber shop in the livery stable. The muddy Main Street had little more than one drug store, owned by Fred Roach, Sr.; the railroad depot, George Yentzen's Bakery, J. H. McNeill Grocery, and the Oakley Hotel. Johnnny Ware, the postmaster, ran a grocery store and the post office (which later burned). Later, Mr. Theriot went to work for Mr. M. L. "Shorty" Boyer, who owned the shop in back of the drug store. Later he owned his own shops at various locations on Boston Street. Late in 1924, Loveless met Miss Mary Louise Landry, born October 30, 1910, to Sidney Paul Landry and Canellia LeBouef (whose photograph appears in Sapphire City Of The Neches: A History Of Port Neches, Texas page 265) of New Orleans, the only daughter among four children. They were married in Saint Elizabeth's Catholic Church on August 9, 1925. The progeny of that marriage were two children, Dorothy Mae Theriot Concienne and Robert Edward Theriot. The Theriot family are longtime members of St. Charles Catholic Church in Nederland. In 1926, Loveless Theriot bought his first home in Nederland, a two-room "shotgun" house from Mr. L. Van Marion. In his desire to better himself and his surroundings in Nederland, he moved, remodeled, and built three more homes on the corner of Twelfth and Chicago. In 1938, a garage apartment that he owned burned to the ground, and that incident initiated the beginning of the Nederland Volunteer Fire Department. In 1940, Loveless Theriot built a lovely, story and one-half residence, which was at Thirteenth and Chicago, built on the vacant lot in back of NCNB Bank and on the side of the J. H. McNeill, Jr. home. He later sold that home to the First Baptist Church, to become the church's parsonage. The sale price of the transaction was $10,000, and a newspaper of that day stated that it was the highest price involving a Nederland real estate residential deal up until that year. Loveless, who acquired the Oakley apartments and eight apartment complexes, built the Theriot Motel, which is now the Villa Motel, as well as the commcial building at the corner of Twelfth and Nederland Avenue, which he originally built for Baker-Williford Pharmacy. During the late 1940s, he had the contract to demolish the original Langham school, and the floor joists from that old Langham school building became the rafters in the new Theriot building. In 1949, he built his last home where he and Mary Louise Theriot still reside at 113 Twelfth Street. In 1960, he built his last business on Helena Avenue, which is known as the Fashion Cleaners. Loveless Theriot was instrumental in starting the old YMBL, which later developed into the Nederland Chamber of Commerce. He worked to get the City of Nederland incorporated and served on the city council. He was instrumental in starting the French Home in Tex Ritter Park. He always has worked for the betterment of the city of Nederland until even the Dutch descendents have affectionately labeled him as Loveless "Van" Theriot.
|
|
