For those who knew Des Allemands resident Ronnie P. Tregre, they’ll remember him as a man passionate about many things – like family, friends and piloting – and as a man who died doing what he loved.
“My brother was a outdoor enthusiast and a good man,” Rickey Tregre said. “He was a fun-loving guy who loved to fly planes and go whitewater rafting.”
Ronnie, who also moonlighted as a real estate investor, died on April 22 when his single-engine seaplane crashed into a cow pasture shortly after 3:30 p.m. near Down the Bayou Road in Des Allemands.
“I heard about the crash from a friend,” Rickey said. “I was in shock. I’m still in shock.”
Ronnie, who relatives say was an experienced pilot, was alone in the two-seater Aventura II aircraft at the time of the accident.
“This wasn’t the first time that he had flown the plane,” added Rickey. “It was a new plane, but he had taken it out to practice taking off and landing a couple of times. That’s what he was doing the day he died.”
Living on the bayou, Ronnie was also known for his love of baiting a hook and camping.
“Ronnie just moved back to Louisiana from Texas about six months ago,” Rickey said. “That’s when he really started to fish again, and he loved fishing off the banks of the bayou.”
Rickey says that Ronnie’s two sons, Jesse and Jody, are naturally devastated by their father’s death and will miss him greatly.
“His boys are taking it day by day right now,” Rickey said. “It’s a sad time in their lives, and it’s going to be hard for them.”
What exactly caused caused Ronnie’s plane to go down that day is still a mystery. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the incident is still under investigation.
“I can’t put into words right now how I’m feeling,” Rickey said. “He was my brother and with him finally back home, we were beginning to get close again.
“Now he’s gone.”
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