NEW ORLEANS — This weekend we remembered the 32 people killed in the Upstairs Lounge fire, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the deadliest fire in the city's history.
Ferris LeBlanc was a family man and a World War II veteran. 50 years ago he visited New Orleans, the reason for his trip, his nephew Skip Bailey says, will never truly be known.
Bailey described LeBlanc to Eyewitness News, saying, "He was always elegant and very well dressed. Very well mannered, intelligent, good looking dude, and always fun to be around, always laughing. Never saw him frowning or sad."
LeBlanc never returned and it wasn't until eight years ago that they were told he had died in New Orleans. Bailey recounted the moment he learned his uncle had died back in 2015, "I walked into the dining room and my mother was at the dining room table and I had just tears rolling down my face. I said, mum we found him. It's horrible."
June 24, 1973, an arsonist set fire to the Upstairs Lounge, killing 32 people. One of the deadliest attacks on the LGBTQ+ community in American history.
"When Ferris died, he was identified, never claimed, just dumped in a hole basically. And he never had a service."
The family believes LeBlanc is buried at Rest Haven cemetery in New Orleans East. They say his burial and death records were lost by the city during Hurricane Katrina.
Five decades later the Baileys continue to search for LeBlanc's remains, and have made several trips to New Orleans as part of their research.
"Our quest is just bring him home. We want to bring him home and that's all we've been fighting for since 2015," said Skip.
At the corner of Charters and Iberville, Bailey read his uncles name on the memorial marker where the Upstairs Lounge once stood. All he wants, he says, is to bring Ferris LeBlanc home.
"I just gotta find him. That's my whole goal. I don't want my mom to die with not knowing that we got him. "
Councilman JP Morell's office is now workign with the Bailey family to try and locate their uncle. Morell said in part, "My office continues to work alongside the LeBlanc family in searching for Ferris’ remains so that he can finally get a funeral befitting for someone who fought overseas in WWII. We will not stop looking for Ferris until he is returned to his family, who have nothing but love and fond memories of their Uncle Farris."