Peter Charles Piazza, Jr.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 11:00 am St. Elizabeth Seton Church for Peter Charles Piazza Jr., 71, who passed away on January 20, 2022 surrounded by his family. Monsignor Russell Harrington will celebrate the funeral Mass. Lectors will be Riley Clare Valentine and Amy Hanks; gift bearers will be Lynn Miller, Elijah Piazza and Rozalie Marceaux.

Serving will be Peter (Tre’) Piazza III, Jon-David Piazza, Dylan Luquette, Dallas Thibodeaux, Joey Thibodeaux and Paul Raford Piazza.

Visitation will be held on Friday, January 28, 2022 from 3-8 pm, and resume Saturday morning at 8-10:30 am. Recitation of the rosary will be held Friday evening at 6 pm. The family asks that masks be worn at all services. 

A native of Abbeville and resident of Lafayette for most of his life, Peter was a loving and caring husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend, in addition to being a highly accomplished photojournalist and videographer. He is survived by his loving wife of 43 years, Dolores “Dee” Lavergne Piazza; three adult children and their spouses, Peter “Tre'” Charles Piazza III and wife Amy, Jon-David Piazza and wife Rebecca, and Marianna Piazza Luquette and husband Dylan; sisters-in-law, Judy Lavergne and Kem Lavergne Maturin (Jim); brother-in-law, Kermit Lavergne; six grandchildren, Kaitlyn, Dylan, Elijah, Rozalie, Violet, Wade; a bonus granddaughter, Vikki; and two adoring dogs, Leica and Nikon. 

Survivors also include Peter’s loving sisters Donna Girgan (John), Carla Bowman (Glenn), Gwen Moss Lanoux, and Jacalyn Moss Egan; his beloved cousin Ed Piazza (Cindy), five half brothers and sisters, godchildren Crane Girgan, Lynn Laverne Miller, Elizabeth Riley, Katheryn Riley, Riley Clare Valentine and Amy Hanks, and a number of “chosen family members” among friends who’ve stood by Peter and family for many years.

Peter was preceded in death by his mother, Roxie Broussard Moss (Roy); his father, Peter Charles Piazza; his brother, Coni Moss; his paternal grandparents, Peter Carmelo Piazza and Catherine Carotta Piazza; his maternal grandparents, Roquler Joseph Broussard and Bertha Hill Broussard; his aunt, Lydia Piazza Abshire; and his uncles Paul Piazza (Felecie) and Donald “Bubba” Broussard (Margie).

He attended St. Stanislaus School in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and graduated from Abbeville High School, where he began taking photographs early on after finding his gift and love of his art with a Brownie camera given to him by a family member. Peter attended Northwestern State University, where he further honed his photography and darkroom skills. He worked at an early age at the Abbeville Meridional newspaper before hiring on at age 21 with The Daily Advertiser. It was there that he spent most of his photography career over two stints, working as a videographer for KLFY Channel 10 for two years in between.  

While photography was his professional calling, Peter’s love on and off the job was meeting Acadiana’s people and hearing their stories, always seeing the unique and unusual in everyday things. It was not uncommon for him while driving to and from work assignments or personal trips to suddenly make a U-turn to capture a photograph of something that caught his eye. Celebrated with numerous awards and recognitions for his talents, he cherished most his photo shoots with Mother Theresa, Pope John Paul II and several political notables over five Presidential Conventions. He considered his most difficult assignments the many natural disasters he covered. 

Peter was also a gifted gardener, able to grow almost anything in his backyard. He enjoyed growing fruits, vegetables and flowers, and had many producing fruit trees. He was a member of the Louisiana Society for Horticulture Research (LSHR) for more than 30 years.

Peter also volunteered on numerous occasions for various Acadiana organizations and causes, including Anything Pasta-ble, telethons, and Miles Perret and Arts of Acadiana events. It was in those times and others that he passed by example his servant spirit and heart to his children and grandchildren. Asked their greatest adventures and lessons with their Dad, Peter’s children would say camping, learning to shoot, being checked out of school to tag along on photo shoots he knew they would love and learn from, and experiencing helicopter rides on his job. 

A heartfelt appreciation is extended by the Piazza family to all who cared for Peter in his time of medical needs:  friend and caregiver Terri LeBlanc; Dr. Vernon Valentino, Stella Prejean, Dr. Kenneth McCarron, Dr. John Martin, Dr. Anthony Blalock, and Heart of Hospice Nurses Mary and Kent.

Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers are welcomed in Peter’s name to The Carmelite Monastery, 1250 Carmel Drive, Lafayette, LA, 70501.