Lana Louise Pritchard Bienvenu

Little Rock, Ark. – Lana Louise Pritchard Bienvenu, 59, of Little Rock, Arkansas crossed the bridge of life into eternal happiness on October 24, 2017. Lana was born August, 8, 1958, in St. Martinville, Louisiana.
She enjoyed her first years living in the country among the sugar cane fields with her grandparents, who immigrated from Sicily. Lana was very proud of her Italian heritage and was able to travel to Sicily later in life. She attended Mercy High School, which gave her some of her fondest memories. She graduated at the top of her class from St. Martinville Senior High School. She obtained her BA in three years from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL) with a double degree in Communications and Public Relations with Magna Cum Laude honors.
Lana was always a hard worker. She started babysitting at the age of 12. She then worked her way through college at Martin Mills. Her favorite job in college was as a bartender/mixologist at Ray Boy’s in St. Martinville.
After college, she started working for the Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, Louisiana. Later she taught French and Speech at St. Martinville Senior High School, where she was also in charge of the drama club. She also taught at St. Martinville Private Academy and then went on to work for the State’s Social Services. After moving to Little Rock in 1986, she worked for a couple of print shops and later trained in Southern California to become a registered yoga teacher. She taught yoga at various locations, clubs, and nursing homes in Little Rock. She was a well-respected teacher in the yoga community until her chronic illness forced her into retirement.
She had a brilliant mind and could do a crossword puzzle in less than 10 minutes. She loved traveling, listening to music, dancing, cooking, reading, live theatre, art, spending time with her book club, family, her four granddaughters and all the friends she created.
Lana is preceded in death by her father, Larry Pritchard; grandmothers, Annie Inzerella and Gertie Pritchard; and great-aunt, Tina Milazzo.
Left to cherish her memory is her husband, James B. Bienvenu; daughters, Leah Bienvenu Evans (Dr. Brandon C. Evans) of Fayetteville, Ark., and Annie Marie Bienvenu of Nashville, Tenn.; son, Beau James Bienvenu (Rosa Mendosa) of Little Rock, Ark.; granddaughters, Neveah Saige Bienvenu, Chloe Grace Evans, Asher Kate Evans and Elin James Evans all of Fayetteville, Ark.; mother, Lena Pritchard of St. Martinville; brother, Mike Pritchard of St. Martinville; sister, Hollie Pritchard Domingue (Scott)of Denton, Texas; nieces, Claire and Reece Domingue; nephew, Lennon Domingue, all of Denton, Texas,; and her loving dogs, BB and Rocco.
A Mass of Christian Burial, officiated by Monsignor Francis Malone was held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 28, 2017, at Christ the King Catholic Church, 4000 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, Ark. 72212. Rosary was at 7:30 p.m., Friday, October 27, 2017, at Christ the King Catholic Church followed by visitation and viewing.
In lieu of flowers, Lana requested that donations be made to National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association (NfmCPA) through their website: https://www.fmcpaware.org/
Online guestbook: www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/chenal.