Lawyer’s bequest will provide scholarships at LSU Shreveport

June 8, 2023|

A Shreveport attorney’s generous bequest will provide scholarships to help LSU Shreveport attract and retain even more local students.

Curtis Cary

The gift from the late Curtis W. Cary, totaling more than $200,000, will fund the Curtis and Paul Cary Endowed Scholarship. The LSUS Foundation will manage the endowment on behalf of LSU Shreveport.

Curtis Cary and his younger brother, Paul, grew up in Shreveport. Curtis served in the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate after earning his law degree from the Paul Hebert School of Law at LSU. Paul received an undergraduate degree at LSUS and also earned a law degree from LSU in Baton Rouge. The brothers practiced together in Shreveport.

“LSUS provided Paul with the opportunity to get his degree,” said Charles Strickland, a long-time friend to Curtis and Paul. “With their bequest, they wanted to give something back to the community that was so good to them.”

Curtis Cary (at left) and his crew cruise on the way to winning a regatta on Cross Lake in 1984. (Source: Tom Stanford/The Shreveport Times)

 Curtis was a military veteran and an avid sailor. He was a member of the Shreveport Yacht Club and won numerous races on Cross Lake in the 1970s and 1980s. His crew often included Olympic silver medalist John Koluis as well as local sailing enthusiasts. Family and friends gathered at the Yacht Club for a memorial service after he passed away in 2018 at the age of 76.

LSUS Chancellor Larry Clark met Curtis at the Yacht Club in the 1980s.

“Curtis Cary was a highly eclectic, passionate person. He loved Shreveport-Bossier. From numerous interactions with Curtis before or after sailboat racing events on Cross Lake, I learned of his concerns of high school graduates within our region leaving for college, and never returning,” says LSUS Chancellor Larry Clark.

“Curtis believed in the importance of the LSUS mission and of the students served. By testamentary gift, Curtis is making it possible for LSU Shreveport to better attract and graduate fine students of this region, for the benefit of this region. I look forward to informing his initial scholarship recipients about their donor, Curtis Cary.”

Paul Cary enjoyed sports cars, including this vintage Porsche E911 he and his brother both drove in the 1980s. (Source: Susan Poag/The Shreveport Journal)

Curtis and Paul shared a love of motorcycles and sports cars, especially vintage Porsches. Their eye-catching vehicles included a rare, mint condition 1971 Porsche 911E they both drove around Shreveport in the mid-1980s.

“They were both gearheads,” Strickland said.

Paul was an animal lover and cared for all creatures great and small. At one point, he shared his home on Cross Lake with dogs, cats, a goat, a snake and a Savannah monitor lizard. He rescued countless pets from the animal shelter and the streets.

“Paul’s heart was generous to a fault. Paul would do anything for anyone and would try to help any living thing,” Strickland recalled.