Eugene "Tunk" Arnold Andries Jr.

September 17, 1928 - May 3, 2022

A Mass of Christian Burial for Eugene Arnold “Tunk” Andries, Jr. will be held at 10:00 AM on Friday, May 6, 2022, at St. Rita Catholic Church with Rev. Craig Scott and Rev. Anthony Dharmaraj officiating. Interment will follow Greenwood Memorial Park under the direction of John Kramer & Son Funeral Home. Visitation will be held from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM on Thursday, May 5, 2022, and resume from 9:00 AM until 9:30 AM on Friday, May 6, 2022, at the funeral home. Recitation of the Holy Rosary will be held at 6:30 PM on Thursday, May 5, 2022, in the Kramer Chapel. Eugene Arnold “Tunk” Andries, Jr, 93, of Bayou Rapides, passed away on Tuesday, May 3,2022, surrounded by family. Tunk is preceded in death by his wife, Nanette Andries; daughter, Kathy Andries Holt; parents, Eugene Sr. and Maggie Andries; and sister, Shirley Lee. Tunk was born on September 17, 1928. He married his college sweetheart and they were together for 59 years. Tunk was a lifelong farmer and cattleman on Bayou Rapides. Tunk shared his love of livestock and farming with his children and countless 4-H kids in the parish. He was the last surviving charter member of the Rapides Fair Association. Tunk also served as president on numerous committees until his time of death. He was recognized and received countless awards on the parish, regional and state level. Tunk served on the Rapides Parish Policy Jury for two terms and was instrumental in the passing of a tax for construction of the Rapides Parish Coliseum. He served on the board of the Rapides Island Water Association and helped to bring a water system to the Bayou Rapides community. He helped to form the Dixie Youth Baseball League and built Cruikshank Park for children of the community. Tunk was a member of the LA. Prison Enterprise Board, LA and Rapides Cattleman Association, and McNutt Gin Board of Directors. He served as Justice of the Peace for Ward 8. Tunk also built Kincaid Boat Landing and Grocery which he operated with his wife for many years. He helped develop (with his brother-in-law, John Douglas Verzwyvelt) Amelia Private Mobile Home Park on Kincaid Lake. He also envisioned, planned, and constructed Tunk’s Cypress Inn Restaurant on Kincaid Lake. He was a lifelong parishioner of St. Margaret’s Catholic Church and recently a parishioner of St. Rita Catholic Church. Tunk loved hunting and fishing, especially saltwater shrimping and crabbing. He also loved woodworking in his shop. Tunk will be remembered as a devoted father with a mischievous spirit and a heart of gold. Those left to cherish his memory include his children, Sandra and husband, Jimbo Thiels, Robbie and wife, Glenda Andries, Dale and wife, Donna Andries; son-in-law, Rusty Holt; grandchildren, Scotty Thiels (Michelle), Stefanie Watkins, Eric Thiels (Brandi), Julie DeKeyzer (Justin), Travis Andries (Tracy), Amy Holt Brown (Kyle), Jamie Holt (ReBecca), John Holt (Ashley), and Hunter Andries; great-grandchildren, Ethan and Oliva Watkins, Liam and Eli Thiels, Deklan and Lucy DeKeyzer, Tori and Trent Andries, Natalie and Sutton Holt, Cooper, Kathryn, and Sawyer Brown, and Bailee Kathryn Holt; sisters, Faye Mathews, Mary Jo Broussard (Aaron); brother, Dr. John Andries (Patsy); special companion, Betty Leavines, and special lifelong friends, Leman Price and Mary Smith Recard. Pallbearers honored to serve will be his grandsons, Scotty Thiels, Eric Thiels, Jamie Holt, Travis Andries, John Holt, and Hunter Andries. Honorary pallbearers will be Ralph Gill, Joey Mathews, Doug Verzwyvelt, Mark Thompson, Dr. Trent James, Cecil Mathews, Matt Reed, and members of the Rapides Fair Association. Charitable donations can be made to the Rapides Parish 4-H Foundation, 300 Grady Britt Dr, Alexandria, LA 71302, St. Margaret Catholic Church, 402 Ryan St, Boyce, LA 71409 or St. Rita Catholic Church, 3822 Bayou Rapides Road, Alexandria, LA. 71303, or a charity of your choice. The Andries family wishes to thank Dee Dee Gremillion of Harbor Hospice for her extraordinary care and love she showed Tunk during this time. To extend online notes of condolence to the Andries Family, please visit www.KramerFunerals.com.