James Patrick "Jimmy" Cappel

James Patrick "Jimmy" Cappel, 83, of Thibodaux, LA died Wednesday morning, February 18th, of complications from pneumonia at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. Jimmy was born December 2, 1931 to May Roy Cappel and Ernest Berchmann Cappel in Marksville Louisiana, the second of six children. Jimmy was raised in Marksville and Alexandria, Louisiana and graduated from Menard High School. He attended Mary Hill Seminary in Pineville, Louisiana from 1950-51, served in the Fourth Army Infantry from 1954-1956, and studied Art at Louisiana State University from 1956-1957. An artist both by trade and in the kitchen, Jimmy was a quintessential Louisianan, happiest when cooking seafood gumbo for friends and family or painting scenes of his beloved bayou cypress trees. Though raised in central Louisiana, Jimmy gravitated to New Orleans in the early 1960s. In 1966 he met his partner of 47 years, Myrt Beeler, and they lived for many years in the Faubourg Marigny before retiring to Thibodaux, Louisiana in 1994. Jimmy loved all celebrations, but especially Mardi Gras, and was a sought-after costume designer. He created his own costume masterpiece for his reign over the 17th Annual Krewe of Petronius Ball Masque in 1978, served as its Captain in 1980, and would again don a Mardi Gras crown in 2013 when chosen to reign as King of the Krewe of Venus by his peers at the Lafourche Home for the Aged. A loving son, he spent a great deal of time helping to care for his beloved mother May in her later years. He will be long remembered for his vast talent, incredible imagination, infectious laugh and twinkling blue eyes. He leaves a legacy of beautiful artwork hanging in the homes of family and friends throughout the country, as well as a worn wooden box of recipes created, curated and annotated for over sixty years that will continue to be prepared with him in mind for many decades to come. He was predeceased in December of 2013 by his beloved partner, Dr. Myrton Beeler, and by many pets over the decades, most especially his treasured collie, Noodle. He is survived by his daughters, Maroy Merino of Dallas, Texas and her husband Bob Merino; Cherry Cappel of New Orleans, Louisiana, and her partner Beth Blankenship; his former spouse Anne Cappel of New Orleans; three grandchildren, Sarah Merino, Bert Merino and Matthew Merino of Dallas, Texas, and his five cherished siblings and their spouses: Teeny Kuhn of Morristown, NJ and husband Don, Edmund Cappel and Caroline Cappel, both of Thibodaux, La., Fred Cappel and wife Sally, and Dick Cappel and wife Eileen, all of Lake Charles, La.; and 7 nieces, 5 nephews, 10 great-nieces, 11 great-nephews and their families, and one irascible pomeranian, Danny-Boy. Visitation will be held on Friday, March 13th, from 8-10 a.m., followed by a Memorial Mass at 10 a.m., both at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral at 721 Canal Boulevard in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Following the mass, there will be a remembrance celebration at the St. Genevieve Family Center at 815 Barbier Avenue, with Edmund on piano, of course.