Cecil Kermit Colon Jr.

Cecil Kermit Colon Jr. passed away at Deerfield Retirement Community in Asheville, North Carolina on Thursday, January 2nd at the age of 94.

He was the only child of the late Cecil K. Colon and Marian Palmer Colon of Lake Charles, Louisiana. He is survived by Barbara, his wife of 69 years, and his son, John Guerin Colon and wife Deborah of Darien, Connecticut. He is also survived by grandchildren Jessica Baker Colon, David Guerin Colon, Sarah Palmer Colon, and Michael Wyatt Colon. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sons, Jeffrey Palmer Colon, and Robert Baker Colon.

Cecil was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on June 21st, 1930, and grew up in Lake Charles, La., where he graduated from Lake Charles High School in 1947. From 1947 to 1949, he attended The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and then graduated from Tulane University in 1951 with a BBS in Business Administration. He departed the day after graduation for U.S. Navy boot camp and was discharged from the Navy as a Lieutenant in 1955 after serving aboard a destroyer in the Pacific and receiving his Dolphins as a submariner in the Atlantic. He then attended Harvard Business School and graduated with an MBA, class of 1957. He began his business career with Hibernia National Bank in New Orleans, La., becoming Senior Vice President. He then moved on to a career in investment management. At the time of his retirement, he was a partner with the firm St. Denis Villere & Co. in New Orleans. During the entirety of his career in New Orleans, he participated as a board member for a number of civic and professional organizations; he was a director of the Southeastern chapter of Robert Morris Associates, a member of Reserve City Bankers, and a Director Emeritus of Fidelity Bank in New Orleans.

Cecil was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed duck hunting, fishing, and sailing. When not on the water he could be found playing tennis or golfing (though sometimes that too involved water). He loved any activity that brought him together with family and friends. He had a wonderful sense of humor with a ready smile and laugh.

He was deeply curious about the world around him, fascinated to read about history, science, and the inventions and discoveries that make our world and sustain our lives.

He was a man of abiding faith that informed so much of who he was and how he lived.

A Communion Service will be held at St. Giles Chapel, Deerfield Retirement Community, has been moved up to 10:00 a.m. on Friday January 10th due to incoming winter weather. Interment will be at a later date in New Orleans.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to Meals on Wheels, 146 Victoria Road, Asheville, NC 28801, Catholic Charities USA, 2050 Ballenger Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314 or Deerfield Charitable Foundation, 1617 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, NC 28803.

Groce Funeral Home’s Lake Julian team is assisting the family.