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PETITPREN, GEORGE JR.
03/22/02
George Petitpren Jr., a retired employee of Chrysler Aerospace at Lockheed Martin Aerospace, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer at Metropolitan Hospice. He was 79. Mr. Petitpren was born in Anchorville, Mich., and lived in New Orleans. Survivors include his wife, Mary Harvilla Petitpren; two daughters, Georgette Petitpren Johnson and Georgine Petitpren Lightsey; four brothers, Clarence J., Leroy J., Justin J. and Richard J. Petitpren; three sisters, Marion P. Therrien, Justine P. Fraley and Theresa P. Bushey; and a grandchild. A Mass will be said today at noon at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Burial will be in All Saints Mausoleum.
SERPAS, LORRAINE BURLETT
03/15/02
Lorraine Burlett Serpas, a homemaker, died Wednesday of undetermined causes at Summit Hospital in Baton Rouge. She was 71. Mrs. Serpas was born in New Orleans and lived in Baton Rouge. Survivors include two sons, Edwin A. Serpas Jr. of Springfield and Mark A. Serpas Sr. of Hammond; two daughters, Laurie Greer of McComb, Miss., and Tammy Ruh; and 10 grandchildren. Visitation will be today from 6 to 10 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Geisler Funeral Home in Hammond followed by a Mass at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Springfield. Burial will be in Carter Cemetery, Springfield.
PROTTI, SYLVESTER NICHOLAS
03/25/02
Sylvester Nicholas Protti, a retired truck driver, died Thursday at Chalmette Medical Center. He was 77. Mr. Protti was born in New Orleans and lived in St. Bernard Parish for the past 45 years. He served in the Navy Reserves during World War II. Survivors include three daughters, Denise Hartling, Rhonda Craven and Francine Giordano; and five grandchildren. A funeral will be held today at 1:30 p.m. at St. Bernard Memorial Funeral Home, 701 W. Virtue St., Chalmette. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Burial will be in St. Bernard Memorial Gardens.
BROOKS, GERALD ELLIS SR.
03/15/02
Gerald Ellis Brooks Sr. died Sunday of kidney failure at his home. He was 59. Mr. Brooks was a lifelong resident of New Orleans. He graduated from Lincoln High School and was a former member of Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church. Survivors include a son, Carlos Gene Brooks; two daughters, Christian Brooks and Kisean Brooks Miller; two brothers, Kermit and Glynn Brooks; a sister, Sheila Brooks Herron; and six grandchildren. A funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at Davis Mortuary Service, 6820 West Bank Expressway, Marrero. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Restlawn Cemetery in Avondale.
WILLIAMS, ALLEN J. SR.
03/05/02
Allen J. Williams Sr., a retired president of D&S; Sheet Metal Works, Inc., died Saturday at Touro Infirmary. He was 80. Mr. Williams was born in Reserve and lived in Jefferson for the past 52 years. He was a 4th Degree Knights of Columbus and a member of the Holy Name Society and the American Legion Post No. 267. He was a Eucharistic minister and usher for St. Agnes Church. He was an Army veteran of World War II. Survivors include his wife, Hilda Forsyth Williams; a son, Allen J. Williams Jr.; three daughters, Gwendolyn W. Hirsius, Tammy W. McCollum and Wendy M. Williams; two sisters, Marguerite W. Talley and Audrey W. Bienvenu; and nine grandchildren. A Mass will be said today at 1 p.m. at St. Agnes Church, 3310 Jefferson Highway, Jefferson. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home, 4747 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie. Burial will be in Garden of Memories.
COHEN, FLORENCE FAVALORO KIPPERS
03/13/02
Florence Favaloro Kippers Cohen, a homemaker, died Tuesday at Chateau Living Center. She was 93. Mrs. Cohen was born in New Orleans and lived in Metairie for the past 60 years. She was a lifetime member of the American Legion Post 125 Ladies Auxiliary. Survivors include a son, John E. Kippers Jr.; three stepsons, Harry, Perry and Gilbert Cohen; three grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. A Mass will be said Thursday at 11 a.m. at L.A. Muhleisen & Son, 2607 Williams Blvd. Visitation will be at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery.
DELCUZE, JR., ALBERT ‘PEANUT'
03/25/02
Albert "Peanut" Delcuze Jr., a retired letter carrier, died Friday of heart failure at West Jefferson Medical Center. He was 72. Mr. Delcuze was born in Gretna and lived in Marrero for the past 45 years. He was a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers. He was a sergeant in the Marine Corps. Survivors include his wife, Marie Michel Delcuze; a son, Troy Delcuze; three daughters, Kim Muhleisen, Shannon and Chastity Delcuze; two sisters, Deedee Gondrella and Helen Silverstein; and two grandchildren. A funeral will be held today at 11 a.m. at Mothe Funeral Home, 7040 Lapalco Blvd., Marrero. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Westlawn Park Cemetery.
REED, LEONARD IRVINE
03/09/02
Leonard Irvine Reed, a retired employee of the Kenner Sewerage and Water Department, died March 2 of respiratory and heart failure at East Jefferson General Hospital. He was 72. Mr. Reed was born in New Orleans and lived in Metairie for the past 35 years. He was an Army veteran of the Korean War. He was a member of Sweet Home Christian Center. Survivors include two daughters, Cheryl Moore-Eason of Smyrna, Ga., and Cynthia Moore-Day of Marrero; a brother, Milton Reed Jr. of Donaldsonville; a sister, Odessa Reed Lovincy of Clarksville; a grandchild; and a great-grandchild. A funeral will be held today at 11 a.m. at Sweet Home Christian Center, 434 Jackson St., Kenner. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Belgrove Cemetery. Richardson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
POINDEXTER, IRENE
03/05/02
Irene Poindexter, a retired caregiver, died Feb. 25 at Crescent City Health Care Center. She was 75. Mrs. Poindexter was born in Woodville, Miss., and lived in New Orleans for the past 32 years. Survivors include a daughter, Irene Morris of Washington, D.C. A funeral will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Charbonnet-Labat Funeral Home, 1615 St. Philip St. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Providence Memorial Park.
CORY, VERNA MORRIS HOOVER
04/08/02
Verna Morris Hoover Cory, a homemaker, died Saturday at North Oaks Medical Center. She was 93. Mrs. Cory was born in Tangipahoa Parish and lived in Ponchatoula for many years. Survivors include three sisters, Margie Ballard, Loney Bell Findley and Shirley Grantham. A funeral will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Harry McKneeley and Son, 2000 N. Morrison Blvd., Hammond. Visitation will be today from 6 to 9 p.m. and Tuesday at 8 a.m. Burial will be in Ponchatoula Cemetery.
'Rusty' Kershaw, 63, La. recording artist
10/25/01
Russell "Rusty" Kershaw, a Louisiana-born guitarist and recording artist, died Tuesday of a heart attack at Crescent City Health Care Center in New Orleans. He was 63.
Mr. Kershaw, the younger brother of Cajun recording star Doug Kershaw, was born in Tiel Ridge in 1938. Over the course of a long career that began when he was a child, Mr. Kershaw performed with the likes of Neil Young, Chet Atkins, J.J. Cale and Charlie Daniels.
His musical career started with a small family band, Pee Wee Kershaw and the Continental Playboys, "Pee Wee" being the nickname of his brother Nelson.
"He was a musician from the time he was 7 until the day he died," said Julie Kershaw, Mr. Kershaw's widow.
The band joined the famous "Louisiana Hayride" in 1955 and in 1956 moved on to the "Wheeling Jamboree" on a West Virginia radio station.
Doug and Rusty Kershaw went on to perform as a duo, joining the legendary Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in 1957. Their most successful record was "Louisiana Man," a song Doug Kershaw wrote and would later re-record as a soloist.
In 1964, Mr. Kershaw started performing on his own. He worked with Chet Atkins, the famed Nashville guitarist, as a session musician on many of the records Atkins produced, including the Don Gibson hit "Oh, Lonesome Me."
"All the great hits that Chet Atkins produced, Rusty did all the guitar work for him," Julie Kershaw said.
In 1974, Mr. Kershaw played viola and lap steel guitar and also wrote the liner notes for Neil Young's "On the Beach" album. Young in turn performed on several of the tracks of Mr. Kershaw's 1992 album, "Now and Then," which also featured New Orleans singer Art Neville and the band The subdudes.
Julie Kershaw said Young had two nicknames for her husband, "Swamp Thing" and "the Bear," the latter because Young always liked to give Mr. Kershaw a big bear hug whenever they met.
"He was a musical genius and a very kind man," New Orleans blues singer Timothea said.
Mr. Kershaw was friends with numerous other musicians, including Johnny Winter, Leon Russell and Levon Helm. He also worked with several New Orleans musicians, including David Torkanowsky and Allen Toussaint.
"Any time you saw him, he was always upbeat," Aaron Neville said. "He had a smile on his face and always had something nice to say."
Mr. Kershaw had lived in New Orleans since 1980, when then-Gov. Edwin Edwards asked him to join the new Louisiana Music Commission.
Mr. Kershaw was at Crescent City Health Care Center for several months because of complications from emphysema but was expecting to be released soon, Julie Kershaw said.
Besides his wife and brothers Nelson and Doug, survivors include two children from a previous marriage: a son, Troy Kershaw, and a daughter, Sherry Kershaw.
The funeral will be private, but a memorial service will be held at a later date, Julie Kershaw said.
Dennis Persica can be reached at dpersica@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3301.
