A brother dead

and brothers mourning

Fill the heart

with grief today,

And the earnest

grasp fraternal;

Speaks, “a dear one

passed away.”

Yes, no longer

we shall greet thee

In the halls of DKE,

Yet thy name

in sweet remembrance

Graven on

our hearts will be.

We have parted,

Brother, parted,

As we trust, to meet again,

In a full unbroken circle,

Free from sorrow,

grief and pain.

John L. "Jack" Avant, Sr., Zeta Zeta '47

John L. "Jack" Avant, Sr. (ZZ 47'), retired Baton Rouge attorney, died
Wednesday, June 1, 2005, at age 78. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, a
native of Baton Rouge and a resident of Pride, LA. Visitation will be at
Greenoaks Funeral Home on Friday, June 3, from 5:00 PM till 9:00 PM and
continue on Saturday, June 4, from noon until services at 2:00 PM in the
Greenoaks Chapel. Interment in Greenoaks Memorial Park. Brother Avant was
initiated into Zeta Zeta of Delta Kappa Epsilon on January 16, 1944. He
graduated first in his class at LSU Law School in 1949, and was awarded the
Order of the Coif. He was a member of the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi,
Louisiana Trial Lawyers Assoc., American Trial Lawyers Assoc. and
International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He served as a delegate to the
Louisiana Constitutional Convention in 1973 and was inducted to the
Louisiana AFL-CIO Hall of Fame in 2004. Avant spent more than 35 years as
general counsel for the Louisiana AFL-CIO. He was considered by hi s
contemporaries as one of the top ten trial lawyers in the state when he was
litigating cases. Avant is survived by two daughters, Penny Green and Diana
Cobb, and sons John L. Avant, Jr. and Daniel L. Avant, numerous
grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife
Genevieve Rhorer Avant; parents James A. Avant and Jessie Dean Martin; a
brother, Dr. James A. Avant; a sister, Ruth Avant Beard; and grandson,
Daniel Benjamin Avant.