Remembering Myrna Schexnider

Excerpt from Ms. Myrna Schexnider's Obituary:

Born June 29, 1935, Myrna graduated from Lafayette High School in 1953, having been voted most talented girl by her class. She had apprenticed at the Daily Advertiser and enrolled in Southwestern Louisiana Institute to pursue a degree in Journalism. She was also a graduate of the Gertrude LeBlanc School of Dance and on Saturday, February 27th, 1954, Myrna was presented as the Queen of the Order of the Troubadours Mardi Gras Ball in Lafayette.

While working as a scout secretary for Tidewater Oil Company, she became a very active member of the Lafayette Community Theatre, starring in many memorable productions including a 1956 production of The Tender Trap where she met her future husband, Ray Schexnider, a Southwestern alumna and Navy veteran. They moved to Pasadena, CA to study at the Pasadena Playhouse.

In the next ten years, the young couple had four children and were academically involved in the theatre departments at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA and Ole Miss in Oxford, MS. In 1966 the family moved to Natchitoches, LA....

In the fall of 1984, Myrna was hired to develop the Theatre Program at the brand new Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts. After founding and leading LSMSA's theatre program, Myrna, the "Diva Dinosaur" retired in May 2006 at the age of 72....

Fond remembrances may be made to The Natchitoches Humane Society, PO Box 7405, Natchitoches, LA 71457. "With your support, wonderful things will happen for the homeless animals in Natchitoches Parish." 

Click here to read the full obituary.