Remembering Victor E. LaGarde, III

Last updated: August 29, 2026

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Victor E. LaGarde, III, age 85, of Vicksburg, Miss., passed away on August 25, 2026, leaving behind a life marked by devotion, discipline, faith, and enduring love for his family. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, August 29, 2026, at St. Paul Catholic Church with burial following at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg, Mississippi. A visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Monsour and Patin Funeral Directors, 1830 Cherry Street. A rosary will begin at 7 p.m.

LaGarde was born on October 17, 1940, in New Orleans, Louisiana to Victor and Catherine LaGarde. He was a graduate of Jesuit High School and Loyola University in New Orleans, where he met and later married Glenda Betts of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Dr. LaGarde was a research physicist and environmental scientist best known for his long-standing technical leadership within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Dr. LaGarde earned both his Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in physics from Boston College.

He served as the Chief of the Environmental Systems Division (ESD) at the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES) in Vicksburg, Mississippi. His scientific work spanned environmental modeling, terrain analysis, polar oceanography, military hydrology, and computer-calculated geographic and radar simulation systems. He authored and supervised the development of numerous technical reports for the Department of Defense, including foundational computer procedures for calculating watershed boundaries and modeling the breach erosion of earth-filled dams. He was also the Joint Test Director for the Joint Camouflage, Concealment and Deception (CCD) Test and Evaluation Program which developed advanced CCD technologies to protect US forces against modern sensor and weapons threats.

After retirement from government service, he established LaGarde Technical Consulting Inc. and worked on numerous Department of Defense research and development programs, including the Joint Dynamic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Program and the Joint C4ISR Integrated Architecture and Assessment Program that trained Joint Task Force Commanders. Dr. LaGarde was instrumental in the research and development of several antiterrorism, force protection and survivability projects and products. He was crucial to the development of decision-support tools that have contributed directly to the protection of U.S. forces. These include the Joint Antiterrorism Guide, Joint Forward Operations Base (JFOB) Protection Handbook, Small-Base Entry Control Point Guide, Fixed Site Risk Management Tool, Expedient Risk Assessment Tool, and several software applications such as the Protection Planning Visualization and Assessment Tool. Dr. LaGarde provided critical support to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Antiterrorism Program. In this capacity he single-handedly created the initial draft of Engineer Regulation 525-13 (USACE Antiterrorism Program) and developed the USACE Leased Facilities Protection Guide and several USACE-specific software decision-support tools. Over a three-year period, he supervised risk assessments of every USACE Headquarters facility worldwide.

He is preceded in death by his son Victor E. LaGarde, IV in 1972, and his parents. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Glenda; their sons Justin (Anne) LaGarde and their children Henry and Jeanne, Owen (Tara) LaGarde, and Emile LaGarde, MD and his daughters Lela and Catherine; and daughters Claire (Jason) Sanders, DVM, and their daughters Kaitlynn, Mollie, and Maisey and Glynnis (Aaron) Linderman and their children Ambrose, Martha, Iris, Edmund, and Frances. Victor loved God, church, and his family.

Memorials may be made to Vicksburg Catholic Schools Building Fund for the Preforming Arts Center, The Mississippi Chorus, Samaritans Purse  or Gateway Rescue Mission.