James Woodall "Owl" Brodtmann

A Time of Remembrance will be observed on Saturday, November 23, 2019, at 2:30 pm at Fountain Memorial Funeral Home in Lafayette for James "Owl" Woodall Brodtmann, 73, who passed away Friday, November 8th at his residence in Lafayette. Visitation will be observed at Fountain Memorial Funeral Home on Saturday, November 23rd from 12:00 pm until the Time of Remembrance. Interment will follow at a later date. Pastor Weldon Moak of Broussard will conduct the Time of Remembrance. James was born November 4, 1946, in New Orleans and was a resident of Lafayette since 2005 after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home and office in St. Bernard Parish. James attended Jesuit High School in New Orleans, where he was state champion in wrestling and graduated in 1964. After high school, James attended and graduated from LSU in Baton Rouge in 1969 and Loyola Law School in New Orleans in 1973. James worked for over thirty years as an attorney, first as Assistant DA in New Orleans and then as an indigent defender, also in New Orleans. Afterwards, he was a self-employed attorney in St. Bernard Parish, served on the Indigent Defenders Board in that parish and eventually worked as an indigent defender there. Jim, also affectionately known to many as "Owl", was happy in Lafayette, having landed in his wife Phyllis' hometown and there he continued his lifelong habit of voracious reading and much-enjoyed book discussions with others. Owl's tree-filled yard, which he considered a park, brought him great joy. He was always a pet owner of long-lived dogs and cats who were a part of his family. Owl loved his friends and family, was a superb cook and lived by a deceptively simple motto: "It's better to be happy than sad". Jim is survived by his beloved wife of 36 years, Phyllis Kilchrist Brodtmann, of Lafayette; his sister, Jean Brodtmann Ayo and her husband Dr. Donald Ayo, of Thibodeaux and Jean's children, Bryan Hemard, Jr. and his wife Sondra Ward Hemard, of Grand Junction, CO, Dr. Danielle Hemard Melton, of Houston, TX and Jeffrey Hemard and his wife Amanda Ayseene Hemard, of Lafayette; two sister-in-laws, Liz Kilchrist Gilbert, of Lafayette and Tanja Kilchrist Gruber and her husband Fred, of Sterling, IL; two brother-in-laws, Karl Kilchrist and his wife Robin Hood Kilchrist, of Lafayette and Chuck Kilchrist and his wife Meghann McPartlin Kilchrist, of Abilene, TX, as well as all of the dear nieces and nephews in those relatives' families. He was preceded in death by his parents, AJ and Bonnie Woodall Brodtmann and one brother-in-law, Robert R. Gilbert. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in James' name to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at 501 St. Jude Place, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, 1-800-805-5856, www.stjude.org. or to Hospice of Acadiana of Lafayette at 2600 Johnston St., Ste. 200, Lafayette, LA 70506, (337) 232-1234, www.hospiceacadiana.com. Online obituary and guestbook may be viewed at www.fountainmemorialfuneralhome.com. Fountain Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery, 1010 Pandora Street, 337-981-7098 is in charge of arrangements.