The People Project:
Julianna DePaula
By Ashley & Andrew LeSaicherre | February 23, 2025
Meet Julianna DePaula!
Julianna grew up in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and is the youngest of three. She attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School and Ponchatoula High School. Her late father, Julian Dufreche, was the mayor of Ponchatoula from 1988-2004. After high school, she received her undergraduate and Masters from Southeastern Louisiana University. She has worked in the Skilled Nursing setting as a Speech Language Pathologist since 2010.
After college, she moved to New Orleans, and married her husband, Tim, in 2012. Together they have Lena (9), Lucia (7) and Olivia (5). They wanted to be closer to family, so they moved back to Tangipahoa parish in 2021.
They also have Gracie, their 15-year-old dog.
We want to thank Julianna for spending some time with us and letting us get to know about her life and her love of the area.
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in the area, and what do you like to get there?
A: I always order the same thing from these two favorites: Thai Green Leaf - the pineapple shrimp curry. and Hi-Ho - the BBQ beef dressed.
Q: What is your favorite childhood memory?
A: Spending summers at my Paw Paw's camp with my cousins when I was 6 or 7 years old to 13 years old. We played outside all day, we learned how to kneeboard, and it was so simple.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: I would love to visit Egypt to see the ruins. I love history.
Q: What is the first movie you saw in the theater?
A: The first movie I remember seeing in a theater was Forrest Gump with my brother and his date.
Q: Do you have a favorite book?
A: My favorite author is Adriana Trigiani, but my favorite genre is nonfiction. My nightstand currently has a stack including biographies on Winston Churchill (one of my favorite people in history) and Andrew Jackson, and a Baton Rouge girl's diary from the civil war. My mom instilled the love of reading in me at a young age and my dad instilled a love of history.
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: To learn to speak Italian.
Q: What is your favorite music or an artist/band that you would like to see (dead or alive)?
A: Elvis! Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Elvis. I would also like to see Stephen Sanchez perform again.
Q: What current or former business makes you the most nostalgic about the area?
A: Roussel's in downtown Ponchatoula. I would go through the shop with my mom when I was young.
Q: If you could choose one person to go to lunch with that you’ve never met, who is it and where would you go?
A: Padre Pio. If you do not know his story, look him up. We would eat something simple and I would go to where he lived.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique that you love about the area?
A: I love that downtown has been revitalized.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A: Same as where I am today! Raising 3 teenage daughters, happily married. My days of driving them around will be coming to an end!
Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you (even friends or family)?
A: I can say The Hail Mary in Italian. After a mass in Tuscany that was in Italian, I taught myself.
Q: What is a word or phrase that comes to mind when you think of the word “Home”?
A: Ponchatoula.
Q: If you could have a full-time staff member that is fully paid for, what would that be? (Chef, housekeeper, driver, coach, personal trainer, etc.)
A: I would want a driver so I can be more productive!
Q: If you had to choose one type of cuisine to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Greek food.
Q: What do you do when you are alone in your car?
A: Listen to podcasts about health and beauty.
Q: What is the last gift you gave and received?
A: The last gift I gave was a LSU Stanley cup for Tim's birthday. The last gift I received was a picture puzzle from a recent vacation.
Q: What are you known for?
A: Loving Elvis and forgetting to pack essential items on trips.
Q: If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
A: To speak multiple languages.
Q: What are some of your hobbies?
A: Working on puzzles, flower and herb gardening and wine nights.
Q: What is your most commonly used emoji?
A: Laughing crying face.
Q: What are you the most proud of?
A: My two last names, our families. My father in law has built respectful repulations and so did my parents.
Q: What two items would you take with you if you shipwrecked on a deserted island where food and water were taken care of?
A: A hat and a book!
Q: If you won the lottery, what would be the first 3 things you would purchase or spend money on?
A: A private plane, a chef, an amazing vacation, a daily massage, and someone to blow dry my hair.
Q: What do you want your legacy to be?
A: That I was known as a good person.
Who would YOU like for us to get to know?
We love meeting, knowing, and working with our community, and we love working with homes and all types of properties. Helping our community achieve their goals through buying and selling property is something we consider ourselves very fortunate to get to do. Contact one of our REALTORS® if we can help!
