On Thursday morning a motorcade for the late St. Mary parish Sheriff Base Smith went throughout the parish.
The motorcade route started in Franklin at Ibert’s Funeral Home going through Baldwin, Chtitmatcha Trail, Bayou Vista, Sorrel, Bewick, Patterson and Amelia before stopping in Morgan City.
Various police agencies from neighboring parishes, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office, and friends and family, gathered outside the Municipal Auditorium in Morgan City to say their last goodbyes.
One person in particular, Joshua Mote said he met Smith during his teen years when he was going through a rough time. Smith’s mentorship changed the path he was headed down.
“He started helping me with you know me with my life,” Mote said.
“He was my mentor and I started going down the wrong path but he talked to me and through my life. That was like my best friend right there. Now I’m a good person because of Blaise Smith.”
When asked how Smith will be remembered, Mote said through his dedication to his parish.
“His service to the community. His great service. His service was great so.”
St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Gary Drisckell has recently been sworn in as St. Mary Parish Sheriff. He said there was no leader quite like Smith, and his compassion towards all made him who he was.
“Blaise was a different type of Sheriff,” Drisckell said.
“I’ve been here for 32 years and he was genuinely concerned about the people. He loved his deputies. He did things that I’ve never seen before. Some of the things that I’ve seen you know, homicides or death notifications he would show up and pray with the family.”
Drisckell said Smith will be remembered for turning around St. Mary Parish.
“Everybody’s gonna remember how he turned the Sherri’s office around,” Drisckell said.
“And financial, we were in a bind and now we’re doing great we’re doing all the right things. And like I said the compassion the love that he had for the people and he loved the good Lord.”
The motorcade was followed by a viewing and funeral service at the Morgan City Municipal Building.
