Danos remembered for support of Nicholls State

THIBODAUX, La. (AP) - A Larose who helped develop his family-founded international oilfield service business is being remembered in Lafourche Parish for his philanthropy.

Al Danos, of the Larose-based Danos company, died Friday at age 68.

The Daily Comet reports (http://bit.ly/1uJ4Fcu) that Danos retired in 2006 after serving as company president and board chairman of the company founded by his father and a partner in 1947.

In addition to his business success, Danos was known for his support of Nicholls State University and his passion for preserving French heritage in Louisiana.

Danos served on the Nicholls State University Foundation Board, and he and his wife, Mary, who died in 2011, established a scholarship at the university for first-generation college students from South Lafourche High School. They also provided money for endowed professorships.

Danos raised more than $1.5 million to renovate Nicholls' Mary M. Danos Theater, renamed from Talbot Theater in 2012, and worked with state Sen. Norby Chabert to get $4.4 million in state money for other renovations in Talbot Hall.

"Although he wasn't a Nicholls graduate, Al believed strongly in the importance of the university and enjoyed attending events on campus and interacting with students," University President Bruce Murphy said. "Al and Mary's legacy will continue to influence the lives of future Nicholls students."

In 1947, Allen Danos Sr. and Syriaque Curole started Danos as a small crew boat business, but the company now offers construction, fabrication and consulting throughout the world. When their father died at 48, Al and his brother, current president and CEO Hank Danos, became the new leaders.

"We were 21 and 24 years old when our father passed away, so we were thrust into running a business at a very young age," Hank said. "We had a lot of discussions, but we always worked toward a mutual agreement in our business decisions."

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Information from: Daily Comet, http://www.dailycomet.com