John Hardy Filhiol, 85, of Monroe, passed away March 10, 2018. Visitation is at Mulhearn Funeral Home of Monroe on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated by Fr. Pat Madden at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Monroe on Wednesday, March 14, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. Burial is at St. Matthew Cemetery immediately following Mass.
Filhiol is survived by his wife, Georgia Blanchard Filhiol; six children and their spouses, Mark and Virginia Filhiol, Michael Filhiol, Catherine and Joe Golden, Therese Filhiol, Paul and Terry Filhiol, and Charles Filhiol; 12 grandchildren and spouses, Gina Filhiol, Monica Filhiol, John Landry Filhiol, Phoebe Filhiol, Alexander Schulte, Matthew Schulte, Philip and Sasha Filhiol, Tia and Joshua Buck, William Filhiol, Aurora and Chuck Youngblood, Gabriel Filhiol, and Zachary and Nola Filhiol; 7 great-grandchildren, and by his sister, Jeanne Filhiol Wilson. He was preceded in death by his grandson, Morgan Filhiol.
Filhiol was born on March 15, 1932, at home in Monroe, Louisiana to John Baptiste Filhiol, Jr. and Marjorie Hancock Filhiol. He was a descendant of Monroe's founder Jean Baptiste Filhiol, known as Don Juan Filhiol, Commandant of the Spanish Poste d’Ouachita. He was raised at Logtown on his family’s farm by his parents and his paternal grandparents, J.B. and Florence Miller Filhiol, and his aunt, Marie Filhiol. He graduated from Ouachita High School, earned a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy from Louisiana State University in 1954 and a Master of Arts from Louisiana Tech University in 1991. He married Georgia Ann Blanchard in 1954 and went into the U. S. Air Force, serving until 1959, then returned to Monroe with his growing family to work the family farm. He was active in the Louisiana Farm Bureau and sold insurance for Farm Bureau.
For most of his adult life, Filhiol taught private flying lessons to countless students in northeast Louisiana. In 1977 he made aviation his full-time profession as a corporate pilot for a local construction company. He headed Flight Instruction at Louisiana Tech University when its aviation program ranked third in the nation. Filhiol headed the Aviation Department at the University of Louisiana Monroe from 1994 until his retirement in 2002, directing an internationally ranked agricultural aviation program and overseeing acquisition of state-of-the-art flight simulators.
Besides logging over 10,000 hours, Filhiol was a member of many professional and recreational aviation organizations and contributed many hours to the development of professional aviation at the local, state and national level. He was much beloved by his many students and colleagues. Love for flight and concern for safety were the hallmarks of Filhiol’s aviation career.
The family is grateful to many people who rendered care and comfort during Mr. Filhiol's recent illness. It is impossible to name everyone here. Dr. Don Hammett, the Cornerstone Hospital staff, Dr. Frank Weinholt, Northeast Louisiana Veterans Home staff, Matilda Hill and Carole Dickey, and many others, including the sixth-floor staff and doctors at St. Francis Regional Medical Center, all gave compassionate care during his final months on earth.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Our Lady of Fatima Church, St. Vincent de Paul Community Pharmacy, or the charity of the donor’s choice.
Online Registry/Condolences: www.mulhearnfuneralhome.com
Mulhearn Funeral Home
Sterlington Road
Monroe, LA