Central Family Offers Haven for Adalee, 3, and Smith, 2

CENTRAL — Their mother and father were killed in a tragic plane crash on April 10, but Adalee and Smith Pickett have found a new home and a new life here in Central.

Their mother, Laura Ballard, grew up in Morgan Place West in Central and attended St. Isidore Elementary and Redemptorist High.  She went to live with her mother in Kentwood for her senior year and graduated from Sumner High.

Laura met and fell in love with Dr. Taylor Pickett.  They married and had Adalee, now 3, and Smith Pickett, now almost 2.  Dr. Pickett was a well-known cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon who practiced in Houston and Lufkin, Texas.

The couple lived an exciting life.  Dr. Pickett was an experienced pilot who used his plane to fly to emergencies.  A Lufkin TV station reported the case of a physician who had performed life-or-death surgery for 24 hours continuously.  Summoned to help, Dr. Pickett jumped into his plane, flew to the hospital, relieved the physician, and completed the surgery.

But it was a flight in Dr. Pickett’s private plane that led to tragedy.

Dr. Pickett, Laura, and Laura’s sister-in-law, Jacky Ham, had flown to New Orleans, where Laura, a talented singer, performed with Michael Vincent Liuzza, a well-known artist who performed on American Idol.

In the early morning hours of Sunday, April 10, Dr. Pickett decided to fly Laura and Jacky from New Orleans to McComb, where the couple owned a home.

They never made it.  The plane crashed and burned a few miles south of McComb.  Federal investigators are attempting to determine the cause of the crash.

Laura’s father, David Ballard, who is disabled, still lives in Morgan Place West.  He has been distraught over the tragedy.  He has felt responsible for the care of his grandchildren and for holding the family together.  “You can’t imagine the stress of this.  There has been no time to grieve, as we have had to care for the living,” he said.  Ballard, who stands about 6-4, has gone from 230 to 180 pounds in two months.

David Ballard’s other daughter, Katie, is married to Sheriff’s deputy Ben Foret, who works in uniform patrol out of the Sheriff’s Zachary substation. Katie is an RN at Woman’s Hospital.  Two weeks before the crash, Katie learned she was pregnant with their first child.

When news of the accident reached the family, they left for McComb and stayed there for days.  Funeral services for Laura were held in Kentwood.  Dr. Pickett was cremated, and services were held in his hometown, Mobile.

Katie and Ben Foret returned with the two children.  This week, they completed the paperwork and filed for adoption of the children.

“With Adalee and Smith and a new baby on the way, we’re going to have a ready-made family,” Ben Foret smiled.  Katie, Ben, Adalee, and Smith have been staying at David Ballard’s home in Morgan Place West but hope to move into a home three doors down the street on June 15.  Being close together should help, Ballard said.

Dr. Pickett had a large income from his medical practice and owned several properties.

Unfortunately, his properties were heavily mortgaged, leaving no net assets.  The Picketts’ home in McComb has been seized by the bank, and there was no life insurance.

David Ballard said there was a vehicle that the family thought the Picketts owned free and clear, but it turned out that it was owned by another doctor and had to be returned.  As a result, there are no assets to support Adalee and Smith, other than what David Ballard, who is totally disabled, and deputy Ben Foret can put together.

Friends and family have been trying to help.  They held a jambalaya fundraiser at Winn-Dixie in May.

Other than a small notice in the Central City News, there was no publicity.  But friends called one another, and the fundraiser got a big response.

David Ballard said, “There was a pot of jambalaya this big!”  His arms spread wide apart.  “And we sold out every dinner!”  Ballard choked a bit and said, “People drove by and stuck their hands out the window and said, ‘Here, take this.  I don’t need any jambalaya.’”  Ballard said they handed over $50 or $20 or whatever they could.

“So many came that we raised more than $4,200,” he said.  “I’ve never seen anything like it!  There’s really no place like Central!”

Ballard said, “You know, I was never that kind of person.  I would never walk up and give money. I was more of an agnostic.  I didn’t really believe.  But this whole thing has really changed me, especially seeing how much people have cared for us.  I just want to find ways to give back.  I know there is a God.  That’s for sure!”

Katie Ballard Foret said people have been so wonderful to her family.  “As hard as this is on us, we see God’s work being done through the hands of the people around us, and it’s breathtaking,” he said.

Dr. Pickett has two children from a previous marriage.  They are aged 16 and 18.  Last week, their mother and the two children came and stayed at David Ballard’s.  “We all got along well,” he said.  “We want the four children to be close.”

David’s sister is Carla Kusch, the wife of St. Alphonsus deacon Robert Kusch.  Deacon Kusch said of his great nephew and niece: “That little Smith is easy-going and quiet but Adalee is outgoing and the life of the party!” he said.

A family friend said, “The only thing that will really matter 50 years from now is the love — the love they had from the parents and the love we all give them now.”

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News