Margaret Joyce Boudreaux

Margaret “Joyce” Dufrene Boudreaux received her Heavenly promotion on Sunday, March 22, 2026, at the age of 93. Joyce was born on February 3, 1933, at her home in Waggaman, LA, to her parents, Ferdinand “Red” Dufrene and Leonise Lasseigne Dufrene. 

She was raised in Westwego, LA and attended school there. At Westwego High School, she was a Cheerleader and Homecoming Queen. She lived most of her life in Gretna, LA, and most recently she resided in Metairie, LA.

Joyce was preceded in death by her husband, Curtis Boudreaux, as well as her parents, her sister Gladys Dufrene LeBoeuf, her brother Ned Dufrene, Sr., and her son Frank Joseph Capdeboscq. 

She is survived by her son Larry Joseph Capdeboscq (Arlene), her daughter Gina Capdeboscq Gorman (Mark), and daughter in law Irma Lebro’n Capdeboscq. She was also a stepmother to Beverly Boudreaux Tillman (Mike) and Joy Boudreaux Cavalier (Darren). 

“Granny” as she was lovingly called by her grandchildren, is also survived by: Tiffany Capdeboscq Matthews (Steve), Mark Capdeboscq (Jessica), John Capdeboscq, David Capdeboscq, Felicia Capdeboscq, Angela Capdeboscq Bartolo (Corey), Eric Capdeboscq, Kenneth Gorman, and Sharah Gorman McGuinness (Michael). She was also a step-grandmother to Maria Conway, and she had 14 great grandchildren and one great-great grandson still on the way. 

Joyce loved to laugh and often giggled when she spoke. She bubbled with so much joy, that her father insisted that she be called by her middle name “Joyce”, because of the joy she brought to everyone. When she was about to become a grandmother for the first time, she chose to be called “Granny”, because she loved to laugh while watching Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies TV show.

One unusual attribute Joyce had was her full head of beautiful hair, which amazingly, never went gray, even at 93 years old. When she told the nurses at the hospital that her hair was her natural color, they could hardly believe it. They even checked with family members to verify this. We believe that her ability to laugh at whatever life sent her way, was one of the reasons she never went gray.

Joyce was an avid gardener, and a member of garden clubs throughout her life. She was president of Creative Planters Garden Club for many years and was the horticulture specialist for the club, often bringing horticultural samples from her own backyard to meetings. She often gave plants from her own collection, as gifts to others, and enjoyed seeing photos of those plants thriving, after they had been shared with friends.

Joyce was raised in a French speaking household and spoke only French as a child. When she started school, she was required to learn English. So, English was actually her second language. Over the years, she forgot a lot of her French language. She joined CODOFIL (Council For The Development Of French In Louisiana) to regain her original language and culture.

Joyce was a gourmet cook. She had a gift of hospitality. One of her joys in life was to watch people eat the food she had prepared for them. She was adventurous in cooking and always wanted to learn new recipes. She even taught college level cooking courses, after being recruited by a local college, to teach.

She loved setting a beautiful table and designed themed “tablescapes” before there was an official name for them. She collected fine China sets from her travels around the world and also loved to collect Depression Glass. She had an extensive collection of many colors and patterns of Depression Glass, which were displayed throughout her home.

She created beautiful floral arrangements with flowers from her garden and filled her home with them. She was happiest on her patio, among her plants, in her “sanctuary”, reading and studying her Bible. She even had special animal friends who would visit her there: a squirrel named PaPoo and a wild goose named Thomas. These wild animals would join her on her patio, and you could hear her laughing at their antics.

Because of her love of cooking, entertaining and decorating, she was asked to cater the wedding of her best friend’s sister. That event was such a success that it inspired her. She saw the potential, and eventually convinced her then husband to start a catering company, which became very successful, and is still in business today, more than 50 years later. Her original iconic recipes, which are still in use by that catering company, were created in her own home kitchen.

She loved to tell people how God gave her a “revelation” on how to save the drippings from a “steamship round” roast beef and add it to mayonnaise to create “goop”, which gave an awesome flavor to their roast beef sandwiches. To this day, they still make “roast beef goop” at the catering company that she started, all because Joyce prayed, and God gave her the recipe. And those roast beef sandwiches are still popular.

Joyce accepted Jesus as her Savior in 1973. She lived with a passion to tell others about her Savior. Everyday she would ask the Lord to send someone across her path, so she could tell them about Jesus.

She always stressed that we must live every day “in light of eternity”. She learned to forgive others, because she took to heart the Bible verse that says, “If you do not forgive others for their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” She often said, “no one is worth missing Heaven over.”

She encouraged everyone to forgive quickly. That became the key, to how she lived victoriously. She had a boldness for God and was not afraid to speak to anyone about Jesus. It was her personal mission in life to help everyone make it to Heaven.

Joyce was truly the epitome of the Proverbs 31 woman described in the Bible. “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband praises her as well: Many daughters have done noble things, but you surpass them all! Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her at the gates.” Proverbs 31: 28-31

Days before she left this world, she saw angels above her bed. She had Christian worship music playing all the time in the hospital. There was a Spirit of Peace in her room. You could feel the atmosphere of Heaven all around her. The nurses and aides said they loved the way her room “felt”. They didn’t know what the difference was, but they could feel it, and they liked it.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Celebration Of Life Service to honor Margaret Joyce Boudreaux on Friday, April 17, 2026, at 11AM at Old Metairie Protestant Church, 1301 Metairie Road, Metairie, LA 70005. Please wear your bright and colorful clothes, because Joyce always loved a party and bright colors made her smile. Let’s truly make it a great celebration of a life well lived, that pleased and honored God, to the best of her ability.