In Memory
On November 7, 2017, Joe Deffner, an alumnus and loyal supporter of the E. J. Ourso College of Business, was killed in an automobile accident.
Born in New Orleans and raised in Metairie, Louisiana, Deffner graduated from LSU with a bachelor’s in finance in 1990. He would go on to earn an MBA at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Deffner settled in The Woodlands, Texas. He was a leader in the energy finance community. At the time of his death, he was a managing director of the Houston office of HPS Investment Partners. He was an active member of the E. J. Ourso College’s Dean’s Advisory Council, lending his expertise to the group’s Energy Committee.
In addition to his volunteer service to LSU, Deffner devoted many years to the Boy Scouts of America. Under his guidance, 32 scouts attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
Deffner leaves behind his wife, Lisa Bills, and his three sons, Justin, Brett, and Jackson Deffner.
“I only met Joe a few years ago when he joined the Dean's Advisory Council, but we quickly became fast friends," said James O. Harp Jr. ’82, vice president of the Dean's Advisory Council.
"His passion for the Tigers and his love for ‘all things LSU’ were only exceeded by his wisdom in the world of energy finance and the strength of his character. We will miss him dearly.”
