Emmett Clifton Thomas Treadaway, Jr.

A Mass of Christian burial celebrating the life of Emmett Clifton Thomas Treadaway, Jr., 71, will be held Thursday, August 26, 2021, at 2:00 P.M. at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 4300 N. Market Street in Shreveport, with Celebrant Reverend Charles Glorioso, cousin of the deceased, and Concelebrant Reverend Joseph Martina.  A visitation will be held directly before the Mass beginning at 12:00 P.M.  A private family burial will be held at Centuries Memorial in Shreveport at a later date.

Emmett was born on July 2, 1950, to Emmett and Giovannina Papa Treadaway and passed away August 22, 2021, in Shreveport, Louisiana, after complications from COVID-19.  He was a lifelong Catholic and a longtime parishioner of St. Pius X Catholic Church.

Thanks to the added generosity of his elder first cousin, the late Sarah Maggio Glorioso, Emmett attended the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans Catholic School in Shreveport.  He later went to Lakeshore Junior High, Fair Park High School, and then to Northwood High School when it opened in 1967 and where he graduated in 1969.  While at Northwood, he played varsity football, basketball, and baseball for the Falcons and was named to the 1969 Times' All-City and All-State Baseball Teams.  Upon graduation from high school, he received a baseball scholarship to Centenary College where he went on to play for the Centenary Gents.  He graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science in education.  Emmett also played for Shreveport's American Bankers who won the East Texas Baseball League championship and vied at the state National Baseball Congress semi-pro tournament in New Orleans.

In August of 1973, Emmett married Patricia Tate and began his career in education teaching math and coaching football at Trinity Heights Christian Academy in Shreveport.  He joined the United States Army in 1974 and was stationed at Ft. Riley, Kansas.  During his time there, Emmett coached DYA (Dependent Youth Activities) boys' tackle football and also played for the Ft. Riley Sabers, the U.S. Army Retraining Brigade, and the U.S. Army Garrison men's slow-pitch softball teams where he was selected MVP of several tournaments.  He was honorably discharged in 1977 having obtained the rank of Sergeant.

He, his wife, and two daughters then returned home to the Shreveport area and settled in Blanchard (eventually adding a third daughter) where he lived on Avenue Kay close to forty-four years.  Emmett began working alongside his brothers, Antoine and John, at Treadaway's Napa Auto Supply where he was employed for over forty years.  He later founded his own small business, E.T. Sweeping Service, an industrial service specializing in commercial properties, which he ran for over thirty years.  For several seasons, Emmett also coached girls' Dixie Softball at the Blanchard Athletic Club.

For those who really had the chance to know him, they knew he had a tender heart.  Underneath all of his good-natured (and often comical) grumblings and complaining, there lay a deeply kind and gentle soul. Emmett was a loving husband, a dedicated father, and a proud grandfather. He was an exceptional athlete who loved all things sports, and we all know he adored his LSU Tigers.  He had a love of dogs and a special affinity for his labs, Maxie and Little Bit.  To truly know him was to love him, and his absence will be felt tremendously.  As the saying goes, "Time takes away the edge of grief, but memory turns back every leaf."  We are thankful for the memories, and we know that the best way to honor Emmett is to live a life well-lived…to smile, to laugh, to love, and to rest in the hope, our Hope, that one day we will be reunited again for all eternity.

Emmett was preceded in death by his parents and older sister, Rosa Catherine.  He is survived by his wife of forty-eight years, Patricia; daughters Lisa Conklin and husband Erik, Angela Montgomery and husband Brian, and Tricia Smith and husband Timothy; grandchildren Breanna, Jacolby, and Aiden House, Luke and Kate Montgomery, and T.J. and Harley Smith; great-grandchild Braelynn House; brothers Antoine Treadaway and wife Jolene, John Treadaway and wife Linda, and Warren Treadaway and wife Belinda; sister Alice Lee and husband Steve; brother-in-law Robert Tate, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank Dr. David Green and staff at the CHRISTUS-Highland ICU for their tireless efforts to treat Emmett.  They would also like to thank longtime neighbor, friend, and "adopted" daughter, Connie Sasser Matthews, for always being a source of unwavering support.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Pius X Catholic Church or to Boys Town, a charity to which Emmett supported.