“Mousey” might not seem to fit the stature of Kermit Comeaux anymore, despite the nickname given to him in the fourth grade by an ex-coach at Hopkins Street Elementary because he was skinny and quick for his age. His personality, too, is larger than life and he has a genuine concern and desire to help the area’s youth that gives the size of his personality a run for its money.

Born in Erath, Feb. 20, 1954, the only people that call him Kermit anymore, he said, are his mother and sisters.

His was first exposed to the Iberia Optimist Club at New Iberia Senior High School when he was voted the most outstanding senior by the group.

Kermit ‘Mousey’ Comeaux grimaces as he rubs his ankle after being bitten by ants at a recent Optimist Club’s annual fishing workshop. ‘It was a really big ant pile and they were really big ants,’ he protested comically, about his less-than macho reaction to the tiny insects. - Sumitted Advertisement

After graduation, he attended and ran track for Northeast Louisiana University — now the University of Louisiana at Monroe — eventually returning home to marry and start a family.

When in his early 20s, his friend Gerald Gaspard suggested Comeaux attend an Optimist Club meeting. That meeting was the beginning of a 30-year dedication to the club, its programs and commitment to children and young adults.

“When I was a kid, the adults where always there supporting us,” he said. “I always imagined I would do the same.”

He’s held every office in the club during his tenure but said he always preferred to be the “guy behind the scenes.”

“Somebody gave me a job and they knew I would get it done,” he said. “It took me 30 years before I finally stepped up to serve as president.”

Comeaux’s preference for behind the scenes work makes him a perfect fit for a group that he said isn’t looking for pats on the back or glory, but just looking to make a big impact on children’s lives.

One Optimist program that Comeaux particularly enjoys he said is the fishing workshop members of the club present as part of the Iberia Parish Library’s Summer Workshop Program.

He tells stories of children he’s encountered at the workshops, many of whom never fished before he said.

“I had one kid, four or five years ago that caught his very first fish,” he said. “We take Polaroid pictures of the kids with their fish. The little boy asked if he could have his picture and spent the rest of the day sitting quietly staring at it. He didn’t even want to fish anymore. He was just so proud that he caught that fish.”

Comeaux also has spent many years involved in youth sports and even as a referee for area high school basketball teams.

“He’s always been so dedicated to the kids,” said Comeaux’s wife, Beth Comeaux. “His involvement and interest goes so far back and being involved is such a wonderful reward for him.”

Comeaux also loves to cook, he said. He has done so competitively over the past year with a cooking team from Acadiana Hydraulics / Krewe of Lou.

His specialty at home, he said is gumbo, any kind. He said he has friends who when he says he making a “gum” they needn’t hear anymore to be convinced to come over for dinner.

He learned to cook from his grandfather, he said, but he honed his skills during childhood during at a time after his mother had surgery. Comeaux said she would give him directions on preparing supper from her bed.

He also loves New Iberia, he said, which in his opinion is just big enough.

“If you want to be someplace bigger, Lafayette is only a few minutes away,” he said. “But here, everybody knows you and if they don’t, they will shortly. I like that.”

In 10 years time, after at that point, 40 years of service to the community and the children here, Comeaux would like to retire from his job of selling steel.

His dream is to buy an RV and ride into the sunset.

He’s drawn he said to the West, an area of the country he’s traveled considerably since high school.

He said he prefers “canyons of rock to canyons of buildings.”

“Before it’s all said and done, I want to go to the bottom of the Grand Canyon,” he said. “That would be an incredible experience.”