Michael Anthony Poirrier

Dr. Michael Anthony Poirrier of Edgard, Louisiana, a champion for Lake Pontchartrain restoration, was called home peacefully on November 11, 2023. He was 81.

As a child growing up in New Orleans, Michael would keep numerous fish tanks in his home, to his mother’s dismay. On many occasions, he would have to retrieve eels that escaped the fish tanks from under his mother’s kitchen oven. He grew ever more passionate about aquatic life, and as a young man earned his M.S. and PhD degrees from Louisiana State University in zoology. He became a professor in 1988 and for thirty years instilled an appreciation for all things aquatic into his students, eight of which he served as chair to the University of New Orleans Department of Biological Sciences. His endless curiosity and pursuit of knowledge led him to advise thirty graduate students and contribute to science in the form of published books, scientific journals, technical reports and hundreds of presentations over the course of his career. Topics that made his eyes light up included invertebrates, water quality, grassbeds, and anything to do with Lake Pontchartrain. In his spare time he enjoyed the outdoors, hunting, fishing, and crabbing off of his dock at the camp.

Later in life, his grandchildren became his primary focus. He was a devoted grandfather who enjoyed playing with, caring for, and educating his grandchildren. He was a beloved Grandpa and “Baboo”.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Septime Joseph Poirrier, Sr., and Mary Lucy Navarra, and three sisters, Estelle Papania, Rubye Ory and Alice Ann Broussard, and his son Sean Joseph Poirrier. Survivors include his children, Remy Poirrier and Ryan Sewell Poirrier (Lu Sun) and former wife, Patricia Sewell Poirrier, his grandchildren Andrew Franklin Poirrier and Amy Beatrix Poirrier; his siblings, Rose Mary Poirrier, Marion White, Septime Poirrier, Jr. (Doris), John Edwin Poirrier (Kathy), and Francis "Frankie" Poirrier.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the visitation at Greenwood Funeral Home, 5200 Canal Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70125, on Tuesday, November 21st, 2023, starting at 11:00 AM, followed by a Memorial Mass in the Chapel at 1:00 PM. He will be interred at a later date in Greenwood Cemetery. The family invites you to share your thoughts, fond memories, and condolences at greenwoodfh.com. In lieu of flowers, the family would like to have donations made in the name of Michael Anthony Poirrier to the “Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana”, https://www.crcl.org/donate/