SLS 20RS-290 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 4
BY SENATOR BOUDREAUX
CONDOLENCES. Expresses condolences on the passing of Audrey Mae Caudgest Simon.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To express the sincere condolences of the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the
3 death of Audrey Mae Caudgest Simon, native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and a
4 long-time resident of Lafayette, Louisiana.
5 WHEREAS, Audrey Mae Caudgest was born in New Orleans on August 1, 1933, to
6 Hester and Thomas Caudgest and she died on January 25, 2020, with her family by her side
7 in Euless, Texas; and
8 WHEREAS, Audrey Caudgest was a graduate of H. C. Ross High School, an historic
9 school that opened its doors in 1893, in Crowley, Louisiana, and she went on to study at
10 Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, earning a bachelor of arts degree in
11 elementary education; and
12 WHEREAS, in 1953, Audrey Caudgest married her sweetheart, Clifton Maurice
13 Simon, and the couple had one child, a daughter, Vannessa; and
14 WHEREAS, continuing her education while maintaining her commitment to her
15 family and her students, Audrey Simon earned fifty postgraduate education hours at
16 Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas; and
17 WHEREAS, Mrs. Simon's teaching career began in 1955 in Tensas Parish and she
18 went on to devote thirty years to the students of Westside Elementary School in Scott,
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SLS 20RS-290 ORIGINAL
1 Louisiana, before retiring from the Lafayette Parish School System as an award-winning
2 remedial reading specialist, having been recognized for her efforts, especially in working
3 with those struggling to master the task of reading; and
4 WHEREAS, in 1964, Mrs. Simon became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,
5 Inc. and she served in several capacities in the Lafayette Alumnae Chapter, including
6 president from 1970 to 1975; and
7 WHEREAS, after retirement from her formal teaching career, in 1988, Audrey
8 Simon began her second career as a VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) volunteer
9 for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Acadiana, where she served as program director of
10 Empower II and as program director of the Foster Grandparent Program; and
11 WHEREAS, in 1995, the Lafayette Mayor's Commission on the Needs of Women
12 named Audrey Simon as one of the "Women of Excellence"; and
13 WHEREAS, from 1999 to 2005, Mrs. Simon worked as director of ministries at her
14 church, Progressive Baptist Church in Lafayette; and
15 WHEREAS, also a focus of her life wherever Audrey Simon lived was her church,
16 beginning with Jefferson Baptist Church in Crowley where she was baptized, and this work
17 with her church was paramount in her life; and
18 WHEREAS, as an adult, Audrey Simon was unrelenting in her efforts to spread love
19 and the teachings of Christ through work in her local church, first at Progressive Baptist
20 Church in Lafayette, Christ Memorial Community Church in Hurst, Texas, and at St. John
21 Missionary Baptist Church in Euless, Texas, her final church home; and
22 WHEREAS, after residing in Lafayette for more than forty years, Audrey and Clifton
23 Simon moved to Hurst, Texas, to be near their daughter and her family; and
24 WHEREAS, Audrey Caudgest Simon leaves to cherish her memory, her devoted
25 husband of sixty-six years, Clifton Maurice Simon, her daughter and son-in-law, Vannessa
26 and Charles Nickson, and their two sons, D'Andre Maurice Mullen and Jamal Keith Nickson
27 and many other family members and friends; and
28 WHEREAS, Audrey Simon's life was one of love and service, to her husband and
29 daughter, her faith, her students, and her community, all benefitting from her tireless efforts
30 to improve the world into which she was born.
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SLS 20RS-290 ORIGINAL
1 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
2 does hereby express sincere condolences upon the death of Audrey Mae Caudgest Simon,
3 native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and a long-time resident of Lafayette, Louisiana.
4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
5 Clifton Simon.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Mary Dozier O'Brien.
DIGEST
SR 4 Original 2020 Regular Session Boudreaux
Expresses condolences upon the death of Audrey Mae Caudgest Simon, native of New
Orleans, Louisiana, and a long-time resident of Lafayette, Louisiana.
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