Obituary of Dorothy Frances L'Herisson "Dot" Hyams, from The Natchitoches Times, Tuesday, August 7, 2007.

A memorial funeral mass for Dorothy Frances L'Herisson "Dot" Hyams will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 11, 2007, in the Church of the Immaculate Conception.  Her cousin, Fr. Edward Buvens, will officiate.

Visitation will be in the church Saturday, August 11, from 9-11 a.m.  A rosary service will begin at 10:45 a.m.

Mrs. Hyams passed away August 3, in the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center Long Term Care Unit.

Mrs. Hyams was born in Natchitoches on June 6, 1916.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Valery Gaiennie Hyams Jr., two sons, Valery Gaienaie Hyams III and Robert Genoe Hyams; her brother, John Genoe L'Herisson Jr.; her parents, John Genoe and Ruby DeRouen L'Herisson; and two sons-in-law, James "Jim" Howell of Natchitoches and Manuel Flores-Valdez of Austin, Texas.

She is survived by four sons; John "Buddy" Hyams of Friendswood, Texas, William "Bill" Hyams and wife, Marilyn of Ruston, Donald "Donnie" Hyams of Natchitoches and James "Jimmy" Hyams and wife, Melanie, of Knoxville, Tenn.; three daughters:  Gayle Hyams Howell of Natchitoches, Mary Mathilde Hyams Flores of Austin, and Amy Hyams Fell and husband Mike of Youngsville; 13 grandchildren, Jeff Hyams of Okay, Okla., Brian Hyams of Redmond, Wash., Darren Hyams of Friendswood, Toni Crawford and husband, Dickie, of Ruston, Daniel Hyams and wife, Michelle, of Chattanooga, Tenn., Dr. Jay Howell and wife, Natalie, of Shreveport, Jeff Howell and wife, Tracy, of Natchitoches, Jon Howell and wife, Leah, of Maurice, Maya Flores of Austin, Leslie and Valerie Hyams of Knoxville and Katie and Kelsie Fell of Youngsville; 13 great-grandchildren, Gage and Nicholas Hyams of Okay, Emma and Adam Crawford of Ruston, Sam, Nate, and Addrienne Hyams of Chattanooga, David Howell of Natchitoches, Shaye, Kate, Jack and Alex Howell of Shreveport and Colin Howell of Maurice; three sisters, Anna Kathryn Shuler of Natchitoches, Elizabeth "Liz" McGucken of Tampa, Fla., and Pearl Alice "Jane" Griffin of Tuscaloosa, Ala.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Hyams received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana Normal College in 1936, and her Masters in Arts degree and +30 from Northwestern State University.

After graduating in 1936, she began her teaching career in Cameron Parish and later taught in Red River Parish.  She then returned to Natchitoches where she married and stayed home to raise her family.  After her husband's death in 1957, she returned to teaching.  She retired from the Natchitoches Parish School Board in 1980.  She loved to dance and to travel the world, but her greatest joy was spending time with her large family and many friends.  Mrs. Hyams did volunteer work at the Mental Health Clinic and several nursing homes.

She was a devoted mother, sister, and grandmother and she will be missed by all who knew her.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the following charities:  American Heart Association Memorial:  www.americanheart.org. 1101 Northchase Parkway, Marietta, GA 30067 or National Alliance on Mental Illness, www.nami.org, Donor Services, P.O. Box 630577, Baltimore, MD 21263-0577.