System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!
CROCHET, EDWARD L. JR.
12/01/2002
Edward L. Crochet Jr., a retired restaurateur, died Nov. 21 at Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital. He was 80. Mr. Crochet was a lifelong resident of New Orleans. He was a merchant mariner and a Coast Guard veteran. He was a past king and member of the Krewe of Carrollton. Services were private. L.A. Muhleisen & Son Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
ANTHONY, ERNEST M.
12/01/2002
Ernest M. Anthony, a retired blacksmith and former owner of Erny's Stump Grinding Service and Inventors Machine Shop, died Tuesday at University Hospital. He was 82. Mr. Anthony was born in Linn County, Iowa, and lived in Lacombe for the past 32 years. Survivors include his sister, Esther Marie Yosko of Lady Lake, Fla. A memorial service will be held Monday at 10 a.m. at Honaker Funeral Home, 1751 Gause Blvd. West, Slidell. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m.
AUCOIN, ROBERT L.
12/01/2002
Robert L. Aucoin, a retired manager of Owl Food Mart in New Orleans, died Thursday of a heart attack at Ochsner Foundation Hospital. He was 61. Mr. Aucoin was born in New Orleans and lived in River Ridge for 35 years before moving to Metairie Manor last year. He graduated from McMain High School. He was a parishioner of St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic Church. He was a member of the Metairie Guild, AARP and the St. Jude Society. Survivors include his wife, Barbara W. Aucoin; two sons, Robert C. and J. Barrett Aucoin; two brothers, Jacob P. and Albert Aucoin; two sisters, Deloris Aucoin and Brenda Prescott; and five grandchildren. A Mass will be said Monday at 11 a.m. at St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic Church, 1021 Jefferson Highway, River Ridge. Visitation will be today from 6 to 10 p.m. and Monday from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at Tharp-Sontheimer-Tharp Funeral Home, 1600 N. Causeway Blvd., Metairie. Burial will be in Lake Lawn Park cemetery.
Wendell W. Lovitt, Bunny Bread exec, 79
12/01/2002
Wendell William Lovitt, longtime president of Bunny Bread and Greater New Orleans Executive Association man of the year in 1979, died Thursday at his Metairie home. He was 79.
Mr. Lovitt was born in Gravity, Iowa, and lived in Metairie for the past 36 years.
A Dale Carnegie graduate and teacher, Mr. Lovitt also served as general manager of Bunny Bread from 1966 until 1981, until the company was sold to Flowers Foods of Thomasville, Ga.
Thereafter, Mr. Lovitt made an unsuccessful attempt to revive the floundering Reising French Bread Co., before retiring in 1984.
A charismatic salesman and promoter, Mr. Lovitt was "Mr. Dale Carnegie, very enthusiastic," according to his son, Randy Lovitt.
"He'd talk to anybody about anything, anytime," Randy Lovitt said. "You couldn't stand in a grocery line without him knowing your whole life story."
T.A. Miller, former executive with Wolf Baking Co. in Baton Rouge and a friend of Mr. Lovitt's for 36 years, said Mr. Lovitt was single-handedly responsible for expanding Bunny Bread's regional market from its New Orleans base.
"Wendell was a fine salesperson, very easy to get along with," Miller said.
A founding member of the Greater New Orleans Executive Association, Mr. Lovitt also was a founding member of the John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Metairie.
He was a 32nd Degree Mason, a member of the Riverlands Country Club and the New Orleans Real Estate Association.
During World War II, Mr. Lovitt served in the Marine Corps and the Navy.
Survivors include his wife, Beverly Jo Anderson Lovitt; a son, Randy Dean Lovitt; a daughter, Shelly Lovitt Chryssoverges; a brother, Wayne Lovitt of Gravity; two sisters, Alyene McMahill of Bedford, Iowa, and Irene Downs of Omaha, Neb.; and four grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home, 4747 Veterans Memorial Blvd. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Garden of Memories cemetery.
ALDRIDGE, JOSEPHINE TASSEY 'JOSIE'
12/01/2002
Josephine Tassey "Josie" Aldridge, a homemaker, died Friday at Metropolitan Hospice. She was 82. Mrs. Aldridge was born in Bethlehem, Pa., and lived in St. Rose for the past 11 years. She was an Army nurse during World War II. She participated in bingo games at the Elmwood Room. Survivors include a daughter, Carol Aldridge Stoute in St. Rose; and a brother, Eddie Tassey. A memorial service will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. at L.A. Muhleisen & Son Funeral Home, 2607 Williams Blvd. Visitation will begin at 5 p.m. A graveside service will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Garden of Memories, 4800 Airline Highway, Metairie.
Jesse Littlejohn Jr., funeral home owner
12/01/2002
Jesse B. Littlejohn Jr., owner of Littlejohn Funeral Home and a longtime civil-rights advocate, died of lung cancer Wednesday at his home in New Orleans. He was 64.
Mr. Littlejohn was born in Waco, Texas, and lived in New Orleans for the past 34 years. After attending high school in Waco, he received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Denver University. He later took graduate courses at Southern University in Baton Rouge.
In his early 20s, Mr. Littlejohn became active in the civil-rights movement. In 1960, he took a job with the U.S. Housing and Home Finance Administration in Chicago, where he worked in redevelopment and slum-clearance programs.
Seven years later, Mr. Littlejohn moved to New Orleans to investigate discrimination complaints on behalf of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He served that agency as an investigator for 20 years.
Later, Mr. Littlejohn supervised anti-discrimination programs in housing and education for the U.S. Department of Justice. He also worked for the federal Department of Transportation, ensuring that civil-rights regulations, among others, were being followed.
In 1994, Mr. Littlejohn began a second career when he realized a lifelong dream of opening a funeral home. He experimented with a variety of locations for his new venture before settling on permanent homes on St. Bernard Avenue and on Earhart Boulevard.
Former and current employees described Mr. Littlejohn as a scrupulous and generous boss.
"He was a very kind person, very liberal," said the Rev. Joseph Tilly, who worked for Mr. Littlejohn for five years before opening his own mortuary. "He was kind to his employees. We got along very well."
Calvin Johnson, who worked for Mr. Littlejohn for the past four years, said his boss empathized with those who patronized his business.
"He was real respectful," Johnson said. "Even the people who didn't have the ways and means to bury their loved ones, he would try to find a way to help them do it. He was very generous and very well-respected."
Mr. Littlejohn served in the U.S. Army Reserve. He was an active member of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. He was also a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; the Community Relations Council; the Minority Government Employees Association; the Urban League; New Orleans Jaycees; and the Louisiana Education Association.
Survivors include his wife, Peggy Lawson Langley Littlejohn; a stepdaughter, Janice Langley-DeArmas; his mother, Mildred Williams Littlejohn; three brothers, Samuel Littlejohn of Los Angeles, Israel Ben Yehudit of Beersheba, Israel, and Kenneth Littlejohn of Waukegan, Ill.; and four sisters, Macie Jean Taylor and Vivian McCoy of Waco, Texas, Jo Marian Ross of El Paso, Texas, and Patricia Hartman of Dallas.
A Mass will be said Thursday at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 4423 LaSalle St. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m at the church.
Visitation also will be held Wednesday from noon to 3 p.m. at Littlejohn Funeral Home, 2163 Aubry St., and from 4 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home's location at 7818 Earhart Blvd. A wake will follow at 7 p.m. Burial will be in Lake Lawn cemetery.
SONEFF, JOHN T. JR.
12/01/2002
John T. Soneff Jr., a retired supervisor for the Louisiana Department of Health and Human Resources, died Nov. 23 of a heart attack at Ochsner Foundation Hospital. He was 68. Mr. Soneff was born in Louisiana and lived in New Orleans for most of his life. He was an Army veteran. Survivors include his wife, Agnes Perret Soneff. A graveside service will be held today at 9 a.m. at Hope Mausoleum, 4841 Canal St. All Faiths Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
THOMPSON, MARY LOU MATHIES
12/01/2002
Mary Lou Mathies Thompson, a homemaker, died Monday of a stroke at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. She was 76. Mrs. Thompson was born in Covington and was a lifelong resident of Folsom. She graduated from St. Scholastica Academy. She was a parishioner of St. Peter's Catholic Church. Survivors include her husband, Delos A. Thompson Sr.; four sons, Dennis Allen, Julian Mark and Michael Henry Thompson and Delos Thompson Jr.; a brother, Arthur Mathies; and nine grandchildren. A Mass was said Wednesday at St. Peter Catholic Church. Burial was in Allison cemetery. E.J. Fielding Funeral Home handled arrangements.
SMYTHIA, JOHN W.
12/01/2002
John W. Smythia, a retired district manager with Payless Shoe Source, died Nov. 23 of heart failure at East Jefferson General Hospital. He was 48. Mr. Smythia was born in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and lived in Kenner for the past 17 years. He was a graduate of the University of the South. Survivors include his wife, Donna Gilbeaux Smythia; his father, Jimmie Lee Smythia of Christiana, Tenn.; two brothers, Eddie Lee Smythia of LaVelgue, Tenn., and Henry Smythia; and five sisters, Marie Wheatly of Denver, Louise Douglas and Joyce Kelly of Murfreesboro, Hazel Douglas of Christiana, and Mary Weaver of Bell Buckle, Tenn. A funeral will be held today at 5 p.m. at L.A. Muhleisen and Son Funeral Home, 2607 Williams Blvd., Kenner. Visitation will begin at 4 p.m.
