Ronnie Boudreaux

1956 - 2019

Ronald Charles Boudreaux, a professional drummer, skydiver and expert gun collector and restorer, died at his home in Baton Rouge on September 10. He was 62 years old. Ronnie was born on October 6, 1956, into a musical family. His father, John L. (Buddy) Boudreaux, was a prominent band leader and his mother, Ruth Boudreaux, was the booking agent. Two of their three other sons became musicians. The family lived in Goodwood, where Ronnie started school and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. At Baton Rouge High he played timpani drums in the all-state orchestra three years in a row and graduated with scholastic honors in 1975. He majored in music and played in the marching band at North Texas State University, then went on to perform in music clubs, dance theaters, television shows, rodeos and circuses in Louisiana and Texas. He toured for a year in the mid-1980s as a drummer for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He also played in the best known of his father's Big Bands, the Buddy Lee Orchestra. He lived for a time in Austin, Texas, where he played music and managed a restaurant. He did field work in Louisiana for a land surveying company. Ronnie was an entertaining story-teller with a prodigous memory and a sharp sense of humor. He was loyal to his friends and in later years devoted his life to caring for his father, who died in 2015, and his mother, who died in June. An older brother, John Landry Boudreaux Jr., also preceded Ronnie in death. He is survived by an older brother, Richard; a younger brother, Jeffrey; two nieces, two nephews, and four grand-nieces and nephews. Ronnie will be buried alongside his parents in Greenoaks Memorial Park, 9595 Florida Blvd., on Saturday, October 19. Friends and family members are asked to gather at the Greenoaks office no later than 11:45 a.m. and proceed from there to the grave site for a memorial service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center at 3013 Old Forge Drive or at www.brcic.org.