John “Steve” Sirmon, Sr., a former St. Charles Parish councilman-at-large, public information officer, and most recently, registrar of voters, died Saturday, June 16, of cancer. He was 55.
This was Sirmon’s second battle with the disease – he had beaten cancer 20 years ago.
Sirmon, was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor between the heart and the lungs around Thanksgiving, 2006.
He went for treatment over the holidays. The cancer was believed to be in remission until recently when it came back with a vengeance, spreading to his liver and eventually cutting off circulation to his heart.
The parish council named Sirmon, registrar of voters just two months before his death. Sirmon, graduated from Hahnville High where he excelled in sports. He was on the 1967 HHS State Champion track team and also on the 1968 HHS State Champion football team.
“That little sucker was fast and though it was hard to believe, that little skinny boy was a member of the football team as well,” said Parish President Albert Laque at Sirmon’s funeral at St. Anthony Catholic Church, Luling, on Tuesday. June 19.
Sirmon, graduated from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette with a bachelor’s degree in English and Physical Education. He settled in Luling with wife Joette where they raised 3 children and Sirmon, became involved in the local community.
Laque and Sirmon, met in the political arena and became good friends. When Laque was re-elected as Parish President in 2000, he appointed Sirmon, as his public information officer.
“Steve had a strong commitment to help the youth and elderly,” Laque said about the programs Sirmon, pushed to create during his term as councilman-at-large and chairman from 1988-1992.
“He helped get the funding to create the parish recreation department, council on aging, and drainage projects. In the past 18 years, these programs have helped thousands of our youth and elderly.”
That was a major accomplishment because he took the lead to get the taxes to fund the recreation department, which was a politically unpopular move, said parish Chief Administrative Officer Timmy Vial.
During Sirmon’s’ years as St. Charles public information officer, he became Laque’s right-hand man as well as a trusted friend.
“His sense of humor was unique,” Laque said during his tribute to Sirmon, at the funeral, “like the time he used caution-tape to quarantine a good friend’s house while he was on vacation, and notice, he was not in high school, this was just last year!”
The good times always outweighed the bad when Steve was around, he said. Steve Sirmon, Sr. was the beloved husband of 32 years of Joette Sirmon, and father of Carrie Smiley Sirmon,; John Stephen Sirmon,, Jr., and wife, Traci Kinler Sirmon and Timothy Clark Sirmon,. He is the son of the late William Jewell Sirmon,, Sr. and Dorothy Trahan Sirmon, of Gueydon, La.; brother of Sherry Fonseca; William Sirmon, Jr. and wife Edith; and Louis Sirmon, and wife Sally.
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