George Robert “Bob” Haug

Bob Haug met Diane Ferlandy during his senior year at Nicholls where they began dating. They continued to see each other throughout the summer until he joined the U.S. Navy that September. They married February 8, 1964, when Bob finished his Navy schooling. When his tour of duty ended, he returned to New Orleans, arriving just three days after Hurricane Betsy struck. He helped both his mom and Di’s parents with carpentry work on their flooded homes, and began looking for a job.

The Monsanto Company in Luling called Bob to an interview and by February 1966, Bob had begun his career. The couple soon relocated to Luling, where they still make their home. Bob stayed with the company and ran the Roundup herbicide production plant for years before his retirement. He took his family with him to Antwerp, Belgium, when he started a Roundup plant there. In 1996 he retired from daily tasks, but worked as a consultant for another two and one-half years.

Now Bob spends most of his time in his woodworking shop, which is what Di says he enjoys most. “He does beautiful work. I used to take him to Ethan Allen and show him what I liked, and he’d build it. You couldn’t tell the difference,” she said. “Our oldest son, Mike (born in December 1964), has a tile and marble business in Lafayette and is always after Bob to build something so he can tile the top of it.” Mike and his wife, Vee, have a 10-year-old son, Sammy.

Di has her own talents.After working many years with special needs children in the St. Charles Parish school system, she devotes her spare time to painting with oils and charcoal. Some of her work has been selected for display in a New Orleans gallery.