Former Louisiana State Representative ‘Vic’ Stelly dies

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Victor “Vic” Theodore Stelly, former State Representative and author of the “Stelly Plan”, has passed away at the age of 79, and only 15 hours after his tragic passing, his wife Terry Stelly passed away as well.

Vic and Terry were pillars of the community, and in their passing, they leave behind a great legacy in SWLA.

Vic, also a former football coach at McNeese State University, turned to a life a politics in 1983 as a member of the Calcasieu Parish School Board where he served four years.

In a 2016 interview with Best of SWLA, Stelly recalls the end of his tenure on the school board and a possible life in the state Capital.

“When I didn’t run for reelection on the school board, I felt like I had done what the people had asked me to do: to get our school in good shape, and that was fine. At that point, I really didn’t anticipate going to Baton Rouge at all. But people started contacting me (about running for the Louisiana House of Representatives). We ran and we won and the next 16 years were in Baton Rouge.”

Vic achieved many feats as a State Rep., but none was more impressive than his 2002 constitutional amendment, the “Stelly Plan”.

The basis of the the “Stelly Plan” was to eliminate the sales tax on food, drugs and utilities. It took a lot of tireless work, but eventually, he got his way, and the “Stelly Plan” got its two-thirds majority vote.

After serving four terms, Vic declined running for re-election in 2003, and in 2007, he was appointed to the Board of Regents by Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

After serving almost six years, he resigned from his position due to the budget cuts he was seeing in higher education.

Stelly and his wife Terry are survived by their three children, Vic would have been 80 on January 11.