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PETIT, DOROTHY 'DOTTIE' GUILLORY
08/01/02
Dorothy "Dottie" Guillory Petit, a retired employee of Minerals Management Services, died Tuesday of undetermined causes at North Oaks Medical Center. She was 67. Mrs. Petit was born in New Orleans and lived in Tickfaw. She was a parishioner of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Hammond. Survivors include four daughters, Jennifer Matherne of Houma, Vickie Usey and Cynthia Thames of Hammond, and Yvette Boudreaux; a brother, Edward Guillory of Marrero; a sister, Corinne Shelton of Morgan City, Miss. ; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A funeral will be held Friday at 2 p.m. at Harry McKneely and Son Funeral Home in Hammond. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Rose Memorial Cemetery.
DUCOTE, KELVIN JOSEPH
08/01/02
Kelvin Joseph Ducote, owner of Seafood Plus, died Tuesday in an automobile accident in Mississippi. He was 49. Mr. Ducote was born in Metairie and lived in Franklinton for the past 10 years. He graduated from Archbishop Rummel High School. He was a Navy veteran. He was a member of Church of the King. Survivors include his wife, Ninette Roques Ducote; two sons, Jacques Marcel and Daniel Joseph Ducote; two daughters, Maryrita Rose and Heather Ann Ducote; his father, Melvin Joseph Ducote; his mother, Mary Roy Ducote; a brother, Clyde Joseph Ducote; five sisters, Christine Ann Brenan, Donna Jean Sider, Judy Ann Stevens, Veeda Claire Ledet and Antoinette Lula Cadow; and two grandchildren. A funeral will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at Tharp-Sontheimer-Tharp Funeral Home, 1600 N. Causeway Blvd. Visitation will be today from 6 to 10 p.m. and Friday at 9 a.m. Burial will be in All Saints Mausoleum.
HALTER, HAROLD
08/01/02
Harold Halter, 74, Halter Marine founder
Harold Halter, a son of the 9th Ward whose fascination with designing and constructing boats led him to create and run a shipbuilding empire, died Sunday at Memorial Medical Center of complications from a stroke. He was 74.
During its 27-year life, Halter Marine Services Inc. specialized in creating crew boats, tugboats and supply boats for the offshore oil industry. As that industry prospered, so did Halter Marine, which grew to employ 4,000 people in four states. Mr. Halter sold it for $24 million in 1983.
"He was in the right business at the right time," said Penny Hopper, one of his daughters.
"His boats dominated the market for years," said A.J. Rizzo, Mr. Halter's longtime spokesman. "He really was responsible for the current types of supply boats that are operating in the Gulf. They became the standard for the oil and gas industry."
Mr. Halter, a graduate of Francis T. Nicholls High School who had been trained as a machinist, could instantly size up a design for a ship and correctly estimate how much material would be needed and how much the vessel would cost, Rizzo said.
"He often had vessel designs and production methods that were far advanced," said Susan Halter, another daughter. "Sometimes people wouldn't listen, but years later, others would come up with the same idea."
It all started in 1956, with a 26-foot pleasure boat he and a friend, James Dubuisson, built in Mr. Halter's backyard. Hopper said the two had met at Praeger's Machine Shop, where they learned about working with iron and steel from men who had built ships at Higgins Industries during World War II.
The Sea Cat, the name they gave to the boat they built, was so large that the two men had to take down the fence to get it out of the yard, she said. "They sold it and used the money to buy a lot of land in eastern New Orleans and build a second boat, and expanded from there."
By 1978, Halter Marine was responsible for nearly half of the world's production of supply boats, Rizzo said. At 10 sites in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, Halter employees also designed and built yachts, sport-fishing boats, cable-laying ships, marine research and oceanographic vessels, patrol boats, racing boats and boats that float on a cushion of air just above the water's surface.
Mr. Halter sponsored the Halter 200 Offshore Races in Lake Pontchartrain and was owner of a team of racing boats.
He sold his company to Trinity Industries in 1983, but he kept busy researching and developing boats and equipment.
Mr. Halter also founded a job-training program in public schools.
He was founder and a former president of the Louisiana Shipbuilding and Repair Association, and was a member of the City Club of New Orleans, International Trade Mart, Southern Yacht Club, the Plimsoll Club and St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
He served in the Air Force and the Air National Guard.
Survivors include his wife, Pamela Broome Halter; a son, Eric Halter; two other daughters, Jody Halter and Shaney Cefalu; and eight grandchildren.
A funeral will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. Visitation will be today from 6 to 9 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Burial will be in Metairie Cemetery.
BERMAN, VICTOR DAVID
04/28/02
Victor David Berman, an interior designer for Stewart Enterprises, died Saturday of a heart attack at Tulane Medical Center. He was 65. Mr. Berman was born in New York City and lived in New Orleans for the past 18 years. He received a Ph.D. from London College of Applied Sciences, an associate's degree in applied sciences at Parsons School of Design in New York City, a master of sciences degree from West Virginia University and a master of sciences degree from the State University of New York. He previously worked as a Web master and adjunct instructor and employee of computer design, graphics and product assurance for the University of New Orleans and Delgado Community College, as a software designer for Perez Associates Architects and as a health facilities planner for Bellevue Hospital in New York City. He was a member of the board of directors of Parents and Friends of Lesbian and Gays New Orleans and editor of the PFLAG New Orleans Cookbook. There are no survivors. A memorial service will be held Saturday at 6 p.m. at St. Louis Cathedral, 615 Pere Antoine.
Henry A. Politz, 70, U.S. appeals judge
05/27/02
Henry A. Politz, a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1979, died of a heart attack Saturday at his home in Shreveport. He was 70.
"We've lost a great man," said Judge James Dennis, a colleague of Politz's on the 5th Circuit who first met him when both were young lawyers in the early 1960s.
"He was a great guy, a good person, a great lawyer. It's a great loss to the country and the state of Louisiana. I'm very saddened by it."
Politz, who was known for his judicial probity as well as his passion for life, had recently battled cancer but was well enough to hold a crawfish boil for his law clerks on May 18, said Joe LeSage, a friend.
"This is what's so sad. . . . His heart, it finally stopped its beating," LeSage said.
Politz was born in Napoleonville, served in the Air Force in the Korean War and received a degree from LSU Law School in 1959. After graduating, he moved to Shreveport and worked at a law firm.
President Carter appointed Politz, a fellow Democrat, to the federal appellate court in 1979. In 1992, he became the first Louisiana native to serve as the 5th Circuit's chief circuit judge, a post he held for seven years. The court handles appeals from federal courts in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.
"He was just a fantastic chief," Dennis said. "He was undoubtedly the best natural leader as a chief judge that I have had the pleasure to serve under."
While chief judge, Politz also served on the Judicial Conference of the United States, which sets policy for the federal courts and makes legislative proposals to Congress. The panel include the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court plus representatives of federal circuit courts around the country.
Politz removed himself from day-to-day court work by assuming senior status in 1999, but he continued to handle a full caseload until becoming ill, Dennis said.
He was among a group of judges who toured Russia in 1999, observing its nascent judicial system in reform. He traveled throughout the country, answering questions about ethics and enforcement of rules.
Politz had an abiding interest in lawyerly ethics. As a young attorney, he served on a state ethics panel that eventually became the Louisiana Attorney Disclipinary Board, where he investigated alleged misconduct by lawyers. For many years, he also taught a course in legal ethics at LSU, at no charge to the school, Dennis said.
"What a prince of a guy," said former U.S. Marshal J.R. Oakes. "He was a statesman and a loyal friend."
A jokester, Politz was very fond of Cajun humor, helping to make him a sought-after speaker on the legal circuit, Dennis said. He was known for his love of Cajun food, particularly crawfish, and a passion for wild turkey hunting. He decorated his office with hunting trophies, practiced hunting calls and listened to tapes of turkey calls.
Survivors include his 11 children and 19 grandchildren. Three of his children are lawyers and one grandson attends LSU Law School.
Funeral arrangements were not announced.
BAZILE, PAULISKA FOBB
08/01/02
Pauliska Fobb Bazile, a retired seamstress, died Saturday at Thibodeaux Regional Medical Center. She was 89. Mrs. Bazile was a lifelong resident of St. James. She was a member of St. Luke Baptist Church. Survivors include six sons, Herbert, Curtis, Charles, Stanley, Clarence and Sheldon Bazile; two daughters, Gennevie Treaudo and Ida Jasmin; 43 grandchildren; 83 great-grandchildren; and 24 great-great-grandchildren. A funeral will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at St. Luke Baptist Church in St. James. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Buena Vista Cemetery, Lemanville. D.W. Rhodes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
ROBINSON, CORDNELL KEITH
08/01/02
Cordnell Keith Robinson died July 23 of congestive heart failure at University Hospital. He was 29. Mr. Robinson was a lifelong resident of New Orleans. He was a graduate of Alcee Fortier High School. Survivors include his mother, Maybell R. Triché; two brothers, Corey Robinson and Kentrell Davis; three sisters, Shawan and Lashan Robinson and Tonya Williams; and a grandmother, Ethel Clay. A funeral will be held Saturday at 9 a.m. at Greater Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, 3323 First St. Visitation will be Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Littlejohn's Funeral Home, 7818 Earhart Blvd. Burial will be in Holt Cemetery.
SPANSEL, HENRY WILLIAM SR.
08/01/02
Henry William Spansel Sr., a retired office manager for Ernest A. Carriere and Sons Real Estate, died Tuesday of heart failure at East Jefferson General Hospital. He was 80. Mr. Spansel was born in New Orleans and lived in Metairie for the past three years. Survivors include his wife, Rose Mary Bacino Spansel; a son, Henry W. Spansel Jr.; three daughters, Patricia S. St. Pierre, Mary S. Sandifer and Catherine Rose Spansel; two sisters, Mary S. Baker and Dolores E. Bacino; and eight grandchildren. A Mass will be said today at 1 p.m. at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Metairie Cemetery.
TORRES, RAYMOND ALBERT SR.
08/01/02
Raymond Albert Torres Sr., a retired iron worker, died Tuesday at Select Specialty Hospital. He was 80. Mr. Torres was born in New Orleans and lived in Metairie for the past 32 years. He was a member of Iron Workers Local No. 58. He was a Navy veteran and received the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon with one Bronze Star and the Victory Ribbon. Survivors include a son, Raymond Albert Torres Jr. of Soquel, Calif.; a daughter, Dolores Sameluk of New Orleans; three brothers, Robert, Joseph and Lenny Torres; a sister, Anna May Noustens; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. A Mass will be said today at 11 a.m. at Tharp-Sontheimer-Tharp Funeral Home, 1600 N. Causeway Blvd. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Garden of Memories.
