Helen Gossen Arsement

Helen Marie Gossen Arsement Obituary Funeral services will be held on Monday, September 9, 2024 at a 2:00 PM Mass of Christian Burial at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Rayne, LA for Helen Marie Gossen Arsement, 88, who entered eternal rest on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at her residence in Rayne. Interment will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery #2 in Rayne. Fr. Connor Poirrier, Parochial Vicar of St. Joseph Catholic Church will be the Celebrant of the Funeral Mass. The family requests that visitation be observed at Gossen Funeral Home, Rayne LA on Monday September 9, 2024 from 9:00 AM until time of service at 2:00 PM with a recitation of the Rosary at 11:00 AM. Helen was born in Rayne, LA on August 14, 1936. She attended St. Joseph High School in Rayne graduating in 1954 and then attended Sacred Heart College in Grand Coteau for two years. She married Clarence Arsement in 1956 and became a homemaker and stay at home mother raising her seven children. She was a devoted and active Catholic her entire life and even as her memory began to fade she could still recite the many prayers she learned from her Catholic education in her youth. She had a sense of humor, loved a good joke and was able to tell a good joke as well. She gained acclaim as a Cajun comedian, appeared at events in costume telling her repertoire of jokes to the laughter of all who were in attendance and even won first place in a Cajun joke telling contest. She was a very competitive person and did not like to lose whether it was a game she was participating in or in rooting for her favorite team in a sports match. Never a person to put on airs, she was comfortable being who she was, what you saw is what you got, and, she was loved by all who knew her. In their retirement years Helen and Clarence enjoyed traveling in their RV to destinations throughout the United States and Canada. In 2007 she and Clarence traveled to Europe with one of their sons and daughter-in-law and visited the villages of Gangelt and Schierwaldenrath, Germany where her paternal grandparents were born and raised before immigrating to the U.S. with their families and settling in Roberts Cove. They visited many sites in Germany, Belgium and France including Paris, Munich, WWII battlefields and monuments, attending Mass in Notre Dame Cathedral, etc. and she reminisced often on the fond memories she had from the trip. Helen was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 65 years, Clarence Arsement, her parents, Nicholas Joseph Gossen and Marie Bollich Gossen as well as five of her six siblings. Left behind to cherish her memory are her seven children, Christopher Arsement and wife Suzie, Robert Arsement and wife, Janet, Monica Arsement, Karen Collier and husband James, Frederick Arsement and wife Rochelle, Stephen Arsement and wife Ella, Clarence “Chuck” Arsement, Jr. and wife Joan, her sister Catherine Cramer, 17 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. The family would like to extend a special thanks to those who helped make her comfortable during the final chapter of her life including Tammy, Eva, Raylyn and her hospice nurse Jamie. Helen’s five sons would also like to express their sincere gratitude to their sister Monica who lived with her and attended to her in her final years thus making it possible for her to remain in her home…something she dearly wanted. Monica was regularly assisted by her sister Karen in giving care to their mother and her devotion and efforts are also recognized with gratitude. Pallbearers will be Jared Arsement, Beau Johnson, Parker Patin, Justin Arsement, Jordan Bazile, and Matthew Arsement. Memorial contributions in Helen’s name can be made to Hospice of Acadiana, www.hospiceacadiana.com. Friends may view the obituary and guestbook online at www.gossenfuneralhome.net. Arrangements have been entrusted to Gossen Funeral Home, Inc., Rayne LA.

Helen Gossen Arsement

August 14, 1936 - September 4, 2024