Ville Platte firefighters responded to a house fire at 1089 Robert F. Kennedy Drive in Ville Platte around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday after neighbors reported smoke coming from the home. (Gazette photo by Tracy Jagneaux)
By: ELIZABETH WEST
Associate Editor
On Saturday, April 16, the Ville Platte Fire Department responded to a call for a house fire on Robert F. Kennedy St., and while firemen were able to successfully put out the flames, they were unable to rescue 106-year-old Edward “Knot-Toe” Thomas Jr. from the burning home he lived in with his daughter and son-in-law Laura and Larry Jackson.
Knot-Toe, who had a street in Ville Platte named in his honor in 2012, according to a Louisiana State Fire Marshal press release had moved to the “Kennedy Drive location approximately 18-months ago.”
The release also stated that Knot-Toe was “one of Louisiana’s longest-living citizens,” and according to Ville Platte Mayor Jennifer Vidrine, Knot-Toe was the “oldest resident in Ville Platte” until his passing Saturday morning.
During his 106 years of life, Knot-Toe spent 25 years serving his community as a Ville Platte Police Officer and also fixed vehicle radiators for locals.
The fire marshal’s release stated that in the process of suppressing the fire that began in the attic of the Jackson’s home, “firefighters located the lifeless body” of Knot-Toe “alone in the wood-framed residence.”
The official cause of the deadly fire is still unknown.
Funeral services for the beloved Ville Platte native are set for Sunday, April 24, at Ninth Baptist Church in Ville Platte.
Visiting hours will be held from 2:00-4:00 p.m., and the funeral will follow.
To honor the man that Ville Platte’s mayor called “a jewel of a man,” a procession will be led by Ville Platte City Marshals, Ville Platte City Police and Sheriff’s Deputies at 12:30 p.m., and will pass down the Edward “Knot-Toe” Thomas Jr. St., and then will turn onto Main St. near Citizen’s Bank. From Main St., the procession of Mr. Knotoe’s body will turn on N. Latour St. and continue until they arrive at Ninth Baptist Church.
These streets will be closed at that time, and Mayor Vidrine has invited the public to stand on the side of these streets as the procession rolls by.
Vidrine said, “This has been a tremendous and tragic loss for our community, and I urge all of our citizens to stand on the street as Mr. Knot-Toe’s body is brought to Ninth Baptist Church by an official motorcade. Let us show our love for the man who meant so much to us, and bid him farewell.”