BATON ROUGE – A chorus of students at St. Jean Vianney Catholic School gathered to sing “Happy Birthday” to two of the school's most treasured volunteers, Tuesday.

Jeannette Abadie, 79, and Claire Landry, 90, moved to Baton Rouge after being impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

Like many south Louisianans, Abadie and Landry struggled to rebuild their lives after Katrina and despite the tragedy of the storm, they have fond memories of the volunteers who helped them rebuild.

But Abadie and Landry are doing more than praising the volunteers, they're paying it forward. 

The women decided to give back to the Baton Rouge community by volunteering as office assistants at St. Jean Vianney Catholic School.

And as both Landry and Abadie have impressive backgrounds in education, their assistance is much appreciated by the school's staff and students.

Landry graduated from LSU and earned her masters in Education from Loyola, doctorate of Education from UNO, and her law degree from Loyola.

Landry taught elementary school in St. Tammany and St. Bernard Parishes before becoming Assistant Principal and then Principal of Andrew Jackson High School in St. Bernard Parish.

She later became the Associate Superintendent of Elementary Schools in East Jefferson and St. Bernard for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Abadie was also a teacher in St. Bernard Parish, which is where she met and became friends with Landry.

She later went to Loyola where she earned her master’s degree in Guidance Counseling, which became her chosen profession until she was selected to become the Assistant Principal at Andrew Jackson High School. 

The women have been best friends for about 50 years and their birthdays fall in close proximity, Landry turned 90 on November 29 and Abadie turned 79 on December 3.