Robert Angers

Robert John Angers, Jr. (October 20, 1919 – October 13, 1988),^[1] was an American journalist, businessman, and conservative politician. A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography describes Angers as "a tireless and unselfish promoter of good government, the Acadiana region, and free enterprise."^[2]

Early years, education, military

Angers was born in Abbeville, the seat of Vermilion Parish, to Robert J. Angers (1894–1965)^[1] and the former Anna Mae Nunez (1898–1988).^[3] He graduated from Catholic High School, then known as St. Peter's College of New Iberia. In 1940, he procured his Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. During World War II, Angers was a major of the United States Army's 24th Infantry Regiment. He received the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Bronze Star. In 1949, Angers graduated from the Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.^[2]

Journalism career

Angers began his journalism career upon graduation from LSU with his hometown Abbeville Progress. After wartime service, he became in 1945 the advertising manager in 1945 of the Weekly Iberian and New Iberia Enterprise. With his father and brother, Allen, Angers co-owned Angers Real Estate Agency in New Iberia from 1946–1950, when he became the publisher of the Franklin Banner-Tribune in Franklin, the seat of St. Mary Parish. During his fifteen years at the Banner-Tribune, the newspaper converted from a weekly to a daily publication and won 150 state and national press association awards.^[2]

In 1961, Angers co-founded with future Lafayette Mayor Kenny Bowen, Angers, Bowen and Associates public relations firm in Lafayette He sold his interest to Bowen in 1962. From 1966-1968, Angers was an editorial writer and columnist of the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. He founded the Jeanerette Weekly Journal (1964–1965), Southwest Louisiana Capitalist (1963), and Acadiana Profile magazine (1968), which covers twenty-two South Louisiana parishes and is the longest-running still active magazine in Louisiana history.^[4] Assisted by his wife, Angers edited and published Acadiana Profile from 1968–1985, when his son took over the management.^[5] His last job in journalism was again at the Lafayette Daily Advertiser as business editor from 1985 until his death in 1988. From 1967-1968, Angers was also editor of Latin American Report magazine in New Orleans. He founded the Acadian News Agency, which syndicated his public affairs editorials to Louisiana newspapers. Trent Angers acquired the news agency in 1970.^[2]

Congressional campaign, 1964

Angers was a Democrat until 1960, when he joined the Republican Party. In 1964, he supported Charlton Lyons for governor of Louisiana. In July 1964, Angers was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in San Francisco, where he supported U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater for U.S. President. He lashed out at the then all Democratic congressional delegation from Louisiana, calling the members "so-called southern conservatives who are really liberals ... that vote with Lyndon Johnson on nearly all major bills."^[6]

Angers himself ran as the GOP candidate for the Lafayette-based 3rd Congressional District seat against the 16-year incumbent, Democrat Edwin E. Willis of St. Martinville. Angers received 31,806 votes (37.7 percent) to Willis's 52,532 (62.3 percent) and lost every parish in the district. In Lafayette Parish, Angers procured 49.6 percent of the vote and outpolled Goldwater there by 3.5 percentage points. Three other Republicans ran unsuccessfully for U.S. House seats from Louisiana that year: future Governor David C. Treen in the New Orleans suburbs, Floyd O. Crawford (1907–1995) of Baton Rouge, and William Stewart Walker of Winnfield, who opposed the conservative Democrat Speedy O. Long in the since defunct 8th congressional district.^[7] Angers was a Louisiana delegate to the 1968 Republican National Convention which nominated the Nixon-Agnew ticket. In 1974, however, Angers left the GOP and re-registered as an Independent.^[2]

Civic activities

Angers was a member of the St. Pius Catholic Church of Lafayette. He was also affiliated with a plethora of organizations, including the journalism society, Sigma Delta Chi, the New Iberia Port Commission, the Kiwanis Club, and Rotary International, which endowed a Paul Harris Fellowship in his name. He was the founding secretary of the trade association, the Louisiana Intracoastal Seaway Association, and a charter member of the Caribbean-American Freedom League, which worked with Cuban exile groups in unsuccessful efforts to overthrow the communist government of Fidel Castro. Angers was a director of the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana. He was a former president of the Louisiana Press Association, the Franklin Chamber of Commerce (1953), and the Louisiana Jaycees (1949).^[2] He founded and served as the first president of the interest groups, The International Relations Association of Acadiana (TIRAA) and the International Good Neighbor Council. He founded these organizations to promote trade, tourism and goodwil in French and Spanish-speaking countries.^[5] Angers received the George Washington Honor Medal from Freedoms Foundation in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Prior to his death, he received the Lafayette Board of Realtors "Good News Award".^[2] He was also cited by the Louisiana Farm Bureau for its "Special Press Award" for his lifetime endeavors of promoting and writing about agriculture.^[5]

Family

On August 31, 1941, Angers married the former Geraldine Isabelle Beaulieu (born March 3, 1921)^[8] of Jeanerette in Iberia Parish, the daughter of Gerald A. Beaulieu, Sr., and the former Laurice Hebert. The couple had seven sons and a daughter: Robert Gerald, Judith Ann, Trent Michael, Stephen Brion, Winston Thomas, John Matthew, Glen Williams, and Jefferson Mark. Another son died at birth.^[2]

Angers died at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. His passing came three months after the death of his mother. He is interred at Lafayette Memorial Park.^[5]

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