The Shreveport Times

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Jerry William Taylor Segura, Sr.

Highland Cemetery, Mansfield

MANSFIELD, LA - Funeral services for Jerry William Taylor Segura, Sr. will be held Thursday, April 30, at 11 a.m. at First United Methodist Church in Mansfield. Following interment in Highland Cemetery in Mansfield, his children invite family and friends to join them for lunch at the church.

Jerry was born on November 14, 1920, in Alexandria, Louisiana, to Jacob Smith Segura, Sr., and Eula Taylor Segura. He passed away on April 28 at Woolf Cottage at The Glen in Shreveport, where he had recently moved. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Murrell Segura; his parents, Jacob Smith Segura and Eula Taylor Segura; his brother Dr. Jacob Smith Segura, Jr., and his sisters, Cora Mae Savoy and Martha Elizabeth Segura Voorhies.

Left to remember his stories of World War II and the Great Depression are his children, Marilyn Joiner and husband, Gary; Martha Nabors and husband, Bill, and Jerry T. Segura Jr. all of Shreveport. He was proud of his grandchildren, Laura Schlidt and husband Andrew of Katy, Texas, and Joshua and Nicholas Nabors of Shreveport as well as his great-granddaughter, Mary Rachel Schlidt of Katy, Texas. He is also survived by his brother, Lewis C. Segura of Katy, Texas.

A descendant of a pioneer Louisiana family, Jerry grew up in South Louisiana. He attended the Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now the University of Louisiana-Lafayette). His National Guard unit was called up months prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined the Army Air Corps where he was a navigator and later, a pilot. He was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries he received during the Aleutian Campaign . Following the war, he returned to Mansfield where his family had moved. He lived there until moving to Shreveport in 2007 to live with Marilyn and Gary.

Most of his career was spent at Nabors Trailers, the latter years as purchasing agent. Following his retirement, he also worked for Metro Aviation and for Petroleum Graphics. He was a member of the First Methodist Church in Mansfield, the Rotary Club of Mansfield, and the Purchasing Management Association. He also served as president of the DeSoto Hospital Association. He was a Boy Scout leader for Troop 30 at the church and was awarded the Silver Beaver by the Norwela Council Boy Scouts of America for his years of service. One of his proudest achievements was running in the Firecracker 5K in Shreveport at age 75.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions to the Norwela Council Boy Scouts in Shreveport or to First United Methodist Church in Mansfield. Kilpatrick's Rose-Neath Funeral Home, Mansfield, LA, 318-872-4660.