Richard E. D'Aquin, Sr., retired publisher of The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, Louisiana, died peacefully at his home in Lafayette on Saturday, Jan. 22. He was 94.
D'Aquin was a leader in Lafayette's community affairs for the better part of a century, serving as publisher of The Daily Advertiser for 33 years, and sitting on numerous boards and committees in both government and civic life. A Korean War veteran — and at one time the youngest commissioned officer in the U.S. Army — he retired as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. And he was a businessman, owning several community newspapers and chairing the Acadiana Marketing and Publishing Group for Thomson Newspapers Inc. after his retirement from The Daily Advertiser. He was also on the board of directors of First National Bank for decades, as well as the BankOne Advisory Board.
D'Aquin began his newspaper career 70 years ago as an advertising salesman for the Advertiser. In 1954, he was named editor and publisher of The Rayne Acadian Tribune and Church Point News, weekly newspapers owned by the Murphy Newspaper chain, which also owned The Advertiser. He was named publisher of the Lafayette newspaper in 1962 when Thomson Newspapers purchased The Daily Advertiser, a position he held until his retirement on Dec. 31, 1995.
