Christopher Colclough Lagarde

Christopher Colclough Lagarde died peacefully on Thursday, August 1, 2024, with family at his bedside. His death came after a complicated and heroic 7-month battle with illness including major surgeries, kidney failure, and heart complications. In the days leading up to his death, he was alert and engaged in conversations ranging from why there are more hermit crabs on Cat Island than in the Bay to what he was having for dinner. Such a good summary of Chris: engaged, curious, and wondering what his next meal would be.

Born on May 25, 1953, Chris was the fourth child of the late Frank and Marilee Lagarde. He is survived by his eight siblings and their spouses Frank (Suzanne), Mary (Pat), Jules (Roxanne), Melissa, Kevin (Diane), Andrew (Deborah), Alan (Haven), Lis (Lee), 27 nieces and nephews, 38 great nieces and great nephews, and about 40 first cousins and their families. Also part of his story is his former wife Vicki Ward and her children Levi and Jenna, with whom he remained in touch. Not to be forgotten is his beloved dog Jack, who he adopted after his friend Trish died, and is now with his sister Mary. He is also survived by a large community of friends he loved like family. 

Waiting to meet him, along with his parents, are his sister-in-law Lisa Lagarde, and nephew John Lagarde.

Chris was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi where he gladly spent much of his adult life. He graduated high school from Saint Stanislaus in 1971, and from Mississippi State University with a master’s degree in Fisheries Management in 1977. 

Growing up he was active in Boy Scouts and within his parish, Our Lady of the Gulf, where he served as an altar boy and was a member of CYO. He once showed up to church barefoot, in his swimsuit, with a fish hook embedded in his palm, looking for his mother for help. He taught swimming lessons, and was on the local swim team. His most treasured activity was to be on the shores or in the marshes of the Mississippi Sound which would later inform his life's work and his identity on the Gulf Coast. Floundering, crabbing, softshelling, and scouring the beach for trash and fossils remained his favorite activities until the day of his death. 

As the fourth of nine children, self-reliance and hard work were ingrained in him from the beginning. Not one to turn down work, in high school Chris had several jobs including delivering for Southern Frosted Foods, lifeguarding (he once kicked Brett Favre out of the Diamondhead pool), and in early college as a rodbuster, laying rebar in the construction of Interstate 10 with his brother Jules.

While attending Mississippi State, he worked in their catfish ponds doing research, where it wasn't uncommon for him to invite siblings Kevin and Melissa and other college friends over for a fish fry. After graduating he worked at the Lyman Fish Hatchery and at the Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs in the 1980s. 

In March 1991 he started working for newly elected Congressman Gene Taylor as special assistant for fisheries and natural resources, a position he held with pride for 20 years. Chris worked tirelessly at that office, handling everything from answering phone calls (his least favorite) to tackling any environmental marine issues, especially after Hurricane Katrina. In 2007 Congressman Taylor spoke to the House of Representatives and shared a note sent from volunteers from Illinois who’d spent with Chris. The note read: “We are eternally grateful to you for sharing one of Mississippi's finest natural resources, Chris Lagarde. Since we first met Chris a year ago, we've come to know him as a dear friend, a counselor, a leader, a chef, a mentor and a pack rat. He is a great big energizer bunny in a bright orange jumpsuit, not only because he never stops, but because his presence energizes all of us. Chris is a man of compassion and passion. He is caring, loving, generous, and the most humble man you'd ever meet. He's an excellent chef and host. Through all of the trials and tribulations of finding work for our 60 volunteers all week and feeding us twice this week, he always kept his composure, his sense of humor and his love for all of us. …He lends perspective to what is really important in all of our lives, … our friends, family and fellow human beings. Chris is the epitome of the face of Christ, of service, of love for his fellow man." 

Outside of his job and after retirement, Chris had many meaningful roles around town--volunteering as the weighmaster at local fishing rodeos, running crab races at OLG’s Crab Fest, visiting his sister Lis’ students and the folks at Dunbar Village dressed as Santa Claus, picking up trash, recycling, spearheading beach cleanups, and leading walks through the marsh. It wasn't uncommon for him to be boarding up windows in preparation for a hurricane or sharing a sack of oysters someone gave him, or a pot of beans he cooked himself (eight pounds at a time, because that’s how big his pot was). Mardi Gras was as important to him as Halloween. MOMS ball was a favorite, and where he first met The Radiators. For years at Nereids he'd draw as much attention as the parade floats themselves with his big 1947 Chevrolet Thriftmaster truck with The Radiators blaring, dressed in costume, feeding crowds.

He never missed the chance to explain the science behind whatever activity he was involved in. Teaching about all the life forms in the mud in the marshes, the role of the tiniest of fish in the ocean and the health of the Bay was as natural to him as breathing.

Sometimes his passion for the natural world posed a challenge. More than once the city of Bay St. Louis had issues with his wild and abundant property full of magnolias, live and water oaks, tall grass, wildflowers, native bushes, Carolina wrens, barred owls and Mississippi kites. He never denied that his property and sometimes himself were a mess. His truck was always overflowing with crab traps, tools, buckets and rubber boots. But chances are if you needed something, he had it, and he'd loan or give it to you, and make sure you knew how to use it. That was his disposition, honest to a fault, generous, straight-shooting and magnetic.

Since his passing, his family has been touched by the interactions people have shared with them. “He taught me how to use a kitchen knife. How to walk through the woods and not come back with poison ivy. How to put out a fire. The environmental contribution of fat sleepers and many other uncommon species. He taught me that the best part of any party was behind the scenes," wrote a family friend. Nieces and nephews have had no trouble recalling core memories like shooting at dump trucks, being provided oven mitts and goggles before fireworks lessons, making fish prints, or having his loud overflowing pickup truck pull up around the corner instructing teenagers to go home. 

Even as his eyesight failed, and his health began to decline, he remained a strong presence around town and connected to his friends and family. He still loved to cook, and was quick to feed a crowd, and share leftovers with anyone there. He could be found accompanying great nieces to get snowballs, listening to live music and as recently as November, cooking for family from out of town and their visiting friends at his sister’s house, where he loved to hang out. He was grumpy, but he still enjoyed the time spent with family and friends. 

And now his legacy will live on, in Sunday night dinners at Lis and Lee’s, in blackened shrimp sandwiches, during Mardi Gras, on his wild properties and in the marsh. 
Visitation will be held at Our Lady of the Catholic Church on Saturday, August 31, 2024 from 10:30 a.m. until 12:00 noon with a Mass of Christian Burial at 12:00 noon followed by a Celebration of Life at Lis and Lee's home. Please feel free to dress casually, as he would have wanted. Shrimp boots, overalls, ratty tees and Hawaiian shirts are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Outpost of Hancock County, 8013 Lakeshore Road, Bay St Louis MS 39520, and on their facebook page.

Edmond Fahey Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Christopher Colclough Lagarde.