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Obiturary: Dr. Rexford Charles Hauser – UL Faculty Member, Military Veteran

Obituary: Rexford Charles Hauser
June 27, 1930 – December 31, 2023

A Private Funeral Service will be held for Rexford Charles Hauser who passed away on December 31, 2023, at Camelot of Broussard in Broussard, LA. Born in New Iberia in 1930, he was educated in the public school system of Iberia Parish.  In 1943, he went to work in his father’s service station due to the shortage of workers during World War II. When he graduated from New Iberia High School in 1947, he continued to work in his father’s business until drafted in 1951 during the Korean Conflict. After basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, he was sent to Europe, where he spent some twenty months as a member of the 18th Field Artillery Battalion stationed in Babenhausen, Germany.

Upon his discharge from the United States Army in 1953, he entered Southwestern Louisiana Institute, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, under the GI bill and received the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1956. He was granted an Assistantship in Accounting to attend LSU, Baton Rouge, where he earned the degree of Master of Business Administration in 1957. He joined the faculty of SLI’s College of Commerce Department of Accounting in 1957 and transferred to the newly formed Department of Management and Administrative Studies a year later.  In 1961, he was granted a leave-of-absence to work on his doctorate at The Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration. He returned to SLI, by then renamed to USL, in 1964 and was awarded his Doctorate from Harvard in 1965. During the Academic Year of 1967-1968, he was granted a leave-of-absence to serve as Visiting Professor of Accounting and Management at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.

Upon returning to USL, he was assigned the task of researching and designing an MBA Program.  When the program was accepted by the Board of Regents, he became the first Director of the MBA Program while continuing his teaching duties in the Department of Management and Administrative Studies. He held the position until he was selected as Dean of the College of Commerce in 1977. Rexford was instrumental in having the College’s name changed to the College of Business Administration shortly thereafter. In 1986, he returned to teaching Management Accounting in the Department of Accounting. He retired as Professor of Accounting in 1994, to become, as he would say, a full time grandpa.

During his tenure on the faculty, he was named Outstanding Professor in the College of Commerce in 1970 and selected by the USL Foundation as a Distinguished Professor in 1972.  He served on numerous University committees and was a member of civic organizations.  In the 1970’s, he taught classes in the evening for the American Institute of Banking. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center from 1978 to 1987. In 1985, he was named Chairman of the Board of Directors, the first lay person to hold that position. He served as Chairman of the Board from 1985 to 1987. He then served on the Board of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady in Baton Rouge, the parent organization of Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center and Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, among others, from 1987 to 1991. He published numerous articles in scholarly journals.

In 1997, he was honored by a former student and his wife, Wayne and Connie Elmore, with an Endowed Professorship in Management named the Dr. Bernard J. Bienvenu and Dr. Rexford C. Hauser Board of Regents Support Fund Endowment Professorship in Management.

Rexford was a parishioner of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Lafayette, LA.

He is survived by his three children, Fredrick Hauser and his wife, Shelia, Karl Hauser and his partner, Darlene Racca, and Gretchen Hauser Boudreaux and her husband, Allen, all of Lafayette; four grandchildren, Erik Hauser, Kristen Hauser, Erin Boudreaux Carlini and her husband, Matthew, and Leah Boudreaux; three great grandchildren, Alexander Lee Carlini, Amelia Louise Carlini, and Theodore Rexford Kelly Carlini and one step great grandchild, Stefin Benefield.

He is preceded in death by his wife of 69 years, Doris Conzelmann Hauser, formerly of the New Orleans area. Her devotion and unselfish support of his undergraduate and graduate studies was of immense value in his achieving his goals. Without her complete support, he could not have been successful. He is also preceded in death by his parents Hermann Charles Hauser and the former Blanche Marie Decoux, both of New Iberia, and his sister Florence Rabe.

The family wishes to thank the staff of Hospice of Acadiana and Camelot of Broussard, for the compassionate care given to Rexford and his family.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Rexford’s name to Hospice of Acadiana, 2600 Johnston Street Suite 200, Lafayette, LA 70503, 337-232-1234, https://hospiceacadiana.com/donate.

Online obituary and guest book may be viewed at www.fountainmemorialfuneralhome.com.

Fountain Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery, 1010 Pandora St. 337-981-7098 is in charge of arrangements.

Peace, Ed Dugas
athleticnetwork@louisiana.edu