Carissa Hebert, who served as editor of the Ville Platte Gazette from 1998-2011, passed away on Wednesday, May 21, at the age of 59. A Catholic funeral service was held at Ardoin’s Funeral Home in Eunice at 1 p.m. Saturday with Deacon Gary Gaudin officiating.
“Carissa was a beloved person not just to her newspaper colleagues but also to the communities she served as a reporter and editor during her career,” publisher Garland Forman explained. “On a personal note, I have known Carissa throughout her career, and she was always a consummate professional who was expert and skilled in covering new stories and always came up with creative and bright solutions for every issue. She always wanted to help others, and Carissa would do whatever it took to get her job done.”
Forman added there were three things that stood out concerning Hebert. First was always family. She cared and loved all her family members and cared for them when they needed her. Second was her love for the community. Hebert always wanted to be a part of the community she worked. She continued her community work in Allen Parish and still helped in Ville Platte. Third was journalism.
She always wants to get to the truth in the stories she was covering. During her career she was able to bring injustices in small communities to light with her reporting. She always felt the public had a right to know what governmental agencies were doing. That included making sure the public meetings and public records, under law, were open to the public.
“She will be missed by her family and her newspaper family,” Forman continued. “She was a beacon of light when it came to her reporting in the newspaper industry.”
David Ortego, former publisher of the Gazette who hired Hebert as editor, commented, “Carissa was a great person and a great editor. She always went the extra mile to help produce a product that met the needs of the reader and management. She had no problem at crossing over to other departments and helping them with any problem they may have been experiencing. Carissa always put in the extra hours to get the job done.”
“She was also a people person with a big heart, a great listener, and a generous soul,” Ortego continued. “She will be missed by people in and out of the profession.”
Hebert was born on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1966, in Eunice.
