Jack Paul Showers

Lafayette - Jack Paul Showers passed away peacefully at home with his beloved wife, Mary Ellen Henry, who held his hand almost all day, on February 13, 2024. Jack lived an abundant life. He was curious, determined, passionate and plain freaking smart. Jack had a devilish smile, strong voice, and a great laugh. He surrounded himself with winners and happy people. Jack was born November 18, 1945, in Montgomery, AL. He was raised in Vicksburg, MS, and spent a lot of time at the family summer house his father built in Gulfport, MS. At the age of 10, Jack suffered great heartache with the death of his larger-than-life father, Jack Roy Showers. The loss of his daddy became a lifelong inspiration for Jack and fueled an ongoing drive to succeed. He was raised in Vicksburg, MS and spent a lot of time at the family summer house his father built in Gulfport. While still a teenager in the 1960s, Jack began working as a disc jockey playing music at Louisiana radio stations in Leesville and Natchitoches. He loved music and would often sit in and play bass with local groups at various nightclubs. He began college at Northwestern State in Natchitoches and then served two years in the U.S. Army. After that, he moved to Baton Rouge and shifted his interest to the just emerging computer industry. At the young age of 23, he was promoted to acting manager of data processing at Blue Cross after serving stints as lead programmer and chief systems analyst. He left Blue Cross to attend Louisiana State University. While at LSU he was active in student government and returned to radio working as an announcer for WLSU, now KLSU. He won Announcer of the Year in 1972. He was very proud that he was the LSU Watermelon Eating Champion in the summer of 1972! In his third year of undergraduate course work, Jack took the LSAT and scored in the 99 th percentile in the country. That was good enough to get him into law school before he had even completed his undergraduate degree. He had the highest grade in Contract Law and the highest Commercial Paper out of 300 students in both classes. After passing the bar, Jack moved to Lafayette and hung out a shingle as a practicing attorney. He and his then partner, Randy Guidry, were the first lawyers in the Lafayette area to advertise their legal services. They also became real estate experts and closed many residential and commercial properties during the boom days. After the “bust,” Jack became a highly respected trial lawyer, trying everything from murder cases to product liability cases. He was proud to be called a trial lawyer and represented his clients with tenacity and zeal. While attending a CLE class at Harvard in 1990, one of the speakers advised Jack and the class that they should consider enrolling in a Dale Carnegie course. When Jack got home, he promptly made a call. That is where he met the love of his life, Mary Ellen Henry. In 2006, Jack’s entrepreneurial interest drew him into real estate development and ownership of climate-controlled storage. He successfully developed and later sold a large portfolio of storage facilities in Lafayette Parish. After a year’s hiatus, he reentered the business and built the very successful StorageMax location on Highway 90 in Broussard. Jack was relentless about the storage business. He carefully selected the perfect locations to drive traffic, hired and trained the best managers and staff, and became an expert at marketing. These traits contributed to growing a very successful business that he sold in August of 2022. Jack had many hobbies over the years, and he became an accomplished sailor and pilot. He owned sailboats and airplanes and was fanatical about both. He loved photography and was an avid reader of biographies, especially about businesspeople. He enjoyed working out at Reds and with the gang at Sugar Mill Pond Athletic Club. One of his top accomplishments in aviation was flying from New Orleans, LA to Paris, France in September 2005 with his buddy Bill Hammack. This was a flight of over 5,000 miles over the North Atlantic in a single engine piston powered airplane! Jack is survived by his beloved wife and best friend, Mary Ellen Henry. Jack and Mary Ellen were together for over 32 years, enjoying traveling, snow skiing, working out, English Bulldogs and supporting each other’s business accomplishments. He also leaves behind a stepdaughter, Elizabeth Gray, from a previous marriage, as well as his mother-in-law, Nancy H. Henry, and his brothers- in-law, Jack Henry Jr. and David Henry, and his wife Cindy and nieces Taylor Phillips and her husband Jesse and Chase Thomas and her husband Lane, as well as his cousins Marcelite Bristol, Nancy Richards, Larry Baria, Murry Baria and Emory Bradley. He is preceded in death by his larger-than-life father, Jack Roy Showers, his mother Julia Baria Showers, his sister Julia Showers Mount, his son Brandon Showers and his father-in-law, Jack B. Henry, Sr. Jack was cremated and will be buried with his family at Evergreen Cemetery in Evergreen, MS. Special thanks to his main care team, Alana, Lisa, Patricia, and Jean as well as to Hope Health Care and Hospice. He also wanted to thank his “renaissance” buddy Robbie Schexnayder for all their lively conversations over the years while helping Jack to get stronger. Lastly, he wanted to thank our “support group” that met often at Mazen’s Grill! A celebration of life will be held in the future in order to have time to plan the party with a live band. He wanted them to play some Rolling Stones! In memory of Jack’s passion of music and helping needy kids receive band instruments, please consider donating to The Acadiana Center for the Arts Play It Again program in Jack’s name to https://acadianacenterforthearts.org/support/#donate. In the comment section please note in memory of Jack Paul Showers. You can also mail donations to 101 W Vermilion Street, Lafayette, LA 70501 or donate by phone 337-233-7060. Jack donated new band instruments over a period of years for needy budding musicians to local schools with impoverished student populations.