In Lake Charles, LA on July 30, 2023, Paul Martin Redfud went Home to be with our Lord and Savior. Affectionately called "Johnny Paul", he was an immensely popular man who was known for his impeccable sense of fashion and the brightly colored clothing that he loved to wear.  "JP" was a charismatic man who was known for his hearty laughter and for always being the life of the party.

"JP" was the first born of Matilda (Breaux) and Paul Martin Redfud.  He was born in Lake Charles on July 14, 1940 at the infamous address of 713 S. Franklin Street which was the home of his maternal grandparents, Stella "Mom" and Delma "Pop" Breaux.  Many wonderful memories were made in that home which was known as the "front house".  When he was 7 years old, "JP" and his mother and younger siblings moved out of the "front house" and traveled the far, far distance of a few yards and began living in their new home.  This new home had formerly been a garage in the family's backyard and after the passing of Paul, Sr. in 1947, Pop Breaux decided to transform it into a living space for his fourth daughter and her children.  This new home then became known as "the back house".  Although it was very small in structure, its scale was grandiose in terms of the love, fun, and liveliness that was experienced there by "JP" and his beloved mother and his younger siblings: Gwendolyn Louise, Beverly Jean, William Arnold aka Arnie, Sheila Ann, and the baby of the bunch, Barry Craig.  This same love was also experienced by the extended family members of the large and close-knit clan as well as by JP's many friends who stepped through the doors of the "back house" over the next 76 years to eat at his mother's table.  And when his friends weren't dining there, "JP" was known for carting off MANY plates of his mother's deliciously cooked Sunday dinners to his very appreciative friends.

"JP" was christened as an infant at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lake Charles, and he was raised by Matilda in a strong Christian home.  In addition to regularly attending mass on Sundays with his mother, younger siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins, each day "JP" saw his mother reading her Bible and kneeling in prayer.  Up until the final days of his life, he stayed true and faithful to the teachings and examples that his mother had set for him and his siblings and each morning he began his day by reading his Bible and praying and he did the same thing each night before he went to sleep.

"JP" attended Second Ward Colored School until the 8th grade and afterwards attended his beloved and illustrious W. O. Boston until his graduation in 1959.  He was a popular and well-liked student who was well-known for his athletic abilities, most notably as a talented football player.  After completing high school, he attended Grambling State University for a short while before returning home to Lake Charles.  Although he was not a degreed man, "JP" was a highly intelligent man whose greatest lessons in life were byproducts of his coming of age as a teenager in the racially-segregated 1950s and 1960s and in the following years as he matured into a man who was IMMENSELY PROUD TO BE A BLACK MAN.

Highly opinionated and known for his voracious appetite for gaining and sharing knowledge with others, "JP" enjoyed discussing, sometimes actually even debating, many different topics with family and friends and he was known for sticking to his thoughts and beliefs to the very end.

What "JP" was most proud of was his relationship with his only child, Jada Revee Jackson Bolden who was born to his former mate Eva Tijuana Guillory, his two grandsons Eric and Landen, his son-in-law Devone Bolden, his mother and siblings, and the fact that he belonged to such a large and close-knit family who loved and cherished each other BEYOND MEASURE NO MATTER WHAT.

"JP" will be missed by Jada, Eric, Landen, and Devone in addition to his only surviving sibling: Barry England, his sister-in-law: Madeline Rideaux England, his brothers-in-law: McDonald James, George Walker, Harold Byers, his godson: LaVontai Rious, his nieces and nephews, adopted daughters, and his extensive clan of cousins and friends with a special mention of his friend Kenny Boo Guillory and also Milton "Slim" Henny.

"JP" is now in in heaven with his mother, father, four siblings (Arnie, Beverly, Gwen, Sheila), grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and many dear friends and he's listening to the jazz music that he thoroughly enjoyed while wearing a brightly colored suit with an even brighter dress shirt and tie with shiny matching shoes and an "OOOH-WEEEE LOOKING" brimmed hat.  As the chapter of his life has come to an end, his family will forever cherish his memory by using his most often quoted words… "IN THE NAME OF JESUS"!!