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In memoriam: Local notables we lost in 2020
1/92
Benjamin Bullins
Sidney Noel Rideau, who created and starred as the local icon Morgus the Magnificent.
2/92
New Orleans Magazine
Keith Rush, a pioneer of New Orleans talk radio whose conservative politics earned him a dedicated and sometimes controversial following.
3/92
Provided photo
Robert Parker, the singer-songwriter who scored a national hit with his 1966 song “Barefootin.'"
4/92
Paul Yacich Collection
Paul Yacich, a pioneering New Orleans television director/producer who helped build WDSU-TV as a charter member of its engineering staff.
5/92
Associated Press
Mike Foster, who rode a wave of popularity as a plain-speaking conservative businessman into two terms as Louisiana governor from 1996 to 2004.
6/92
Jesuit Central and Southern Province
Father Paul Schott, S.J., a former president of Jesuit High School who also served Holy Name of Jesus, Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church and Manresa House of Retreats.
7/92
Sabiston Consultants
Norma Jane Sabiston, a force in local, state and national politics for more than 30 years as a political consultant, strategist, lobbyist and chief of staff to former Sen. Mary Landrieu.
8/92
Messina's Catering
Chef Leon West, the first executive chef of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, a chef at Messina's and mentor to local chefs and hospitality workers.
9/92
AP
Blaine Kern Sr., "Mr. Mardi Gras," the legendary artist and high energy entrepreneur who turned Mardi Gras float building into a multimillion-dollar business.
10/92
AP
Dr. Frank Minyard, the trumpet-playing Orleans Parish coroner whose 40 years in office put him at the center of controversy as well as at the forefront of public health battles.
11/92
AP
Shirley Ann Grau, a Metairie author who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1965 for her novel “The Keepers of the House." (AP Photo)
12/92
Kameryn Rome/Correspondent for The Houma Times/Daily Comet
Bobby Hebert Sr. (left), father of former New Orleans Saints quarterback and WWL Radio host Bobby Hebert.
13/92
Times-Picayune
George Rainey, a restaurant and catering business owner who was the oldest king of Zulu when he reigned over the krewe’s 2019 Mardi Gras parade.
14/92
WWL
David Joachim, a retired WWL-TV news photographer whose career included covering everything from deadline news to award-winning features and multi-part series.
15/92
AP
Phyllis Landrieu (right), a former Orleans Parish School Board president and passionate advocate for early childhood education. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)
16/92
The Times-Picayune/Advocate
Dolores “Tuttie” Kepner, the founder and longtime captain of the Krewe of Cleopatra.
17/92
David Grunfeld NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune
Alton "Big Al” Carson, a popular blues singer on the New Orleans music scene for more than 25 years.
18/92
WWL-TV
Bruce Eggler, a veteran reporter and editor at The Times-Picayune, The New Orleans Advocate and The States-Item.
19/92
PBS
Tim O’Brien, a former New Orleans TV reporter and anchor who went on to cover the Supreme Court for ABC News.
20/92
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ellis Marsalis Jr., the patriarch of a New Orleans musical family, known for his brand of modern jazz as well as for educating generations of musicians as a teacher.
21/92
TED JACKSON / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE
Susan Finch, who during a nearly 40-year career in local journalism earned a reputation as a tough, dogged but fair reporter for The States-Item and The Times-Picayune.
22/92
NOLA.com
Bert Braud, a well-respected musician, composer and founding faculty member at the NOCCA, whose students included Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr.
23/92
Contributed photo
Former St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister, a longtime figure in parish and state Republican party politics.
24/92
Times-Picayune archive
Dr. Ed Renwick, the veteran local pollster, professor and former WWL-TV political analyst.
25/92
NOLA.com
Lucien Barbarin, a veteran trombonist whose spirited playing and personality enhanced the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and earned a prominent role in Harry Connick Jr.’s band.
26/92
The Times-Picayune
Tom Dempsey, the iconic New Orleans Saints placekicker who set an NFL field goal record that stood for more than four decades.
27/92
WWL
Daniel "Danny" Becnel Jr., one of south Louisiana’s most prominent trial lawyers who represented plaintiffs in class action lawsuits that made national headlines.
28/92
AP
Dr. Raoult Ratard, the state epidemiologist for the Louisiana Department of Health whose work put him on the front line of public health battles for more than two decades.
29/92
NOLA.com
New Orleans bounce rapper Jerome “5th Ward Weebie” Cosey, a pioneer of bounce music.
30/92
Chris Roberts, who served more than two decades on the Jefferson Parish School Board and Jefferson Parish Council.
31/92
NOLA.com
Brooke H. Duncan II, a lawyer and civic leader who reigned as Rex, king of Carnival, in 1971 and was Rex captain during the 1979 police strike.
32/92
Loyola University
Kathryn Venturatos Lorio, a beloved 40-year faculty member and former dean of Loyola University College of Law.
33/92
NOLA.com
Bryan Berteaux Sr., a Times-Picayune photographer who shot memorable pictures of New Orleanians and their activities for about three dozen years.
34/92
WWL
Jeanette LeBlanc, a longtime WWL-TV employee in the commercial traffic department. She is pictured with former general manager J. Michael Early.
35/92
NOLA.com
Herschel L. Abbott Jr., a New Orleans lawyer and enthusiastic volunteer who reigned as Rex 2011.
36/92
NOLA.com
Pioneering New Orleans Police Dept. leader Yvonne Bechet, who became the department's first deputy chief in 1985.
37/92
NOLA.com
Raymond J. Boudreaux, a preservationist and architect who helped to lead the long-running fight against the Vieux Carre Riverfront Expressway.
38/92
Pat Jolly
Kim Boutte, often called Queen Cutie, the Big Queen of the Spirit of Fi Yi Yi Mardi Gras Indian tribe.
39/92
NOLA.com
Judge Sol Gothard, a social worker who took the principles of that profession into his 33-year career as a judge at Juvenile Court and 5th Circuit Court of Appeal.
40/92
Contributed photo
Richard Tanner, a three-term St. Tammany Parish councilman and longtime former educator.
41/92
AP
Julia Reed, a prolific writer on life in the American South who lived in and authored books about New Orleans. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
42/92
NOLA.com
Fred Parker, the man known as "Seventh Ward Santa" or "Chocolate Santa," who posed for photos with generations of Black New Orleanians at Christmas.
43/92
NOLA.com
Margie Villere, a passionate volunteer who earned the nickname “Hurricane Margie” for her intense activity in numerous causes.
44/92
NOLA.com
Don Wattigny, the former football coach at Edna Karr, who mentored dozens of players and fellow coaches over the years.
45/92
Archdiocese of New Orleans
Msgr. L. Earl Gauthreaux, the longest-tenured pastor in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He had served as pastor of St. Maria Goretti Church in New Orleans since 1968.
46/92
NOLA.com
Legendary high school football coach Wayne Reese, Sr. of McDonogh 35 & Carver, where Marshall Faulk was among his players.
47/92
Family photo
Dorothy Nelle Storey "Dottie" Charbonnet, a community volunteer, wife and mother of Kings of Carnival and mother of a former Rex queen.
48/92
NOLA.com
Michael J. Rapier, a perpetually merry investment banker who reigned as Rex, king of Carnival, in 2005.
49/92
Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP
Carol Sutton, an acclaimed New Orleans actress who appeared in dozens of stage productions, movies and television shows during a career spanning a half-century.
50/92
NOLA.com
Bill Grady, a New Orleans journalist for more than two decades at The Times-Picayune who went on to develop a career as a rare-book dealer.
51/92
NOLA.com
Bill Voelker, longtime courts and business reporter for The Times-Picayune.
52/92
WWL
Kenny Nagim, whose more than 50-year career in radio and media, including many years as a sales executive for WWL Radio and Entercom.
53/92
NOLA.com
Sylvester Francis, the founder of the Backstreet Cultural museum which celebrates and chronicles African American culture in New Orleans neighborhoods.
54/92
Family photo/Dignity Memorial
Anne Cameron Kock Montgomery, a member of Carnival royalty (as 1947 Queen of Comus) and lifelong volunteer for groups dedicated to New Orleans’ youngest and oldest citizens.
55/92
NOLA.com
Millie Charles, a relentless crusader for justice and the founder and leader of the School of Social Work at Southern University at New Orleans.
56/92
NOLA.com
Internationally-known pianist Ronnie Kole and his wife Gardner, a local philanthropist and arts advocate, both died in 2020.
57/92
NOLA.com
Dr. Sherwood M. “Woody” Gagliano, a geologist, geographer and archaeologist credited with being the first modern scientist to document Louisiana’s rapidly eroding coastline.
58/92
Contributed photo
Judge James Cannella, former Jefferson Parish Judge and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal Judge.
59/92
Bill Sasser
Jesse Willard Hathorne Sr., the longtime WWOZ radio disc jockey known as the Midnight Creeper.
60/92
University of New Orleans
Reggie Hendry, actor and longtime floor director and production staffer at WDSU-TV, who played a role in many early TV productions.
61/92
NOLA.com
Joseph Jenkins (center), a leader in the Mardi Gras Indian community who made a point of teaching young people about the culture of this distinctive aspect of New Orleans life.
62/92
NOLA.com
Fritz Harsdorff, a universally popular reporter and editor at The Times-Picayune for 35 years, from 1954 to 1989.
63/92
Contributed photo/NOLA.com
John Desplas, the longtime artistic director of the New Orleans Film Festival.
64/92
Southern Univ. Law Center
Former Judge Charles Elloie, who rose up from the Lafitte public housing development to start a key black political organization before retiring from the Criminal District Court bench.
65/92
NOLA.com
Prescott Nelson “Scottie” Dunbar, a historian and arts patron who gave generously to the visual and performing arts.
66/92
LSU Health
Henry A. Gremillion, DDS, MAGD, the dean of the LSU School of Dentistry.
67/92
NOLA.com
Jeannette Hardy, a New Orleans journalistic force who was not only a masterful reporter and editor but also a mentor to aspiring writers for five decades.
68/92
Facebook
Mike Weldon, local broadcaster, radio traffic reporter and comedian.
69/92
NOLA.com
Ronald W. Lewis, who founded the House of Dance and Feathers museum as well as the Big 9 Social Aid & Pleasure Club second-line organization.
70/92
NOLA.com
Matthew Dwyer, proprietor of Charlie's Steak House.
71/92
Family photo/NOLA.com
Judge Henry Garland Sullivan Jr., who served 24 years on the bench in Jefferson Parish’s 24th Judicial District Court.
72/92
Facebook/NOLA.com
Popular bounce deejay and radio personality Oliver Stokes Jr., better known as Go DJ Black N Mild.
73/92
NOLA.com
Daniel Walters, the popular longtime maître d' at Clancy's restaurant.
74/92
NOLA.com
Leona Grandison, whose Candlelight Lounge in historic Treme helped keep New Orleans' culture of live music alive for more than 35 years.
75/92
NOLA.com
James Haddican, whose career at The Times-Picayune stretched more than four decades, from part-time copy boy to the Editorial Board.
76/92
NOLA.com
Alfred “Uganda” Roberts, the percussionist best known for his long association with New Orleans piano patron saint Professor Longhair.
77/92
NOLA.com
Nat LaCour, a high school biology teacher who became leader of the labor union for as many as 7,000 New Orleans public school teachers and other school workers.
78/92
NOLA.com
John Treen, a longtime leader in the state Republican Party.
79/92
NOLA.com
State Rep. Reggie Bagala, R-Lockport, a former Lafourche Parish administrator and auditor.
80/92
NOLA.com
Jimmy Lawson, a former Jefferson Parish Council member who had a long career in Jefferson Parish government and politics.
81/92
Contributed photo
Dorothy "Doris" Finister, co-owner of Two Sisters restaurant.
82/92
NOLA.com
Firmin Simms, a legendary local coach and mentor to student athletes with NORD, JPRD and Babe Ruth baseball leagues.
83/92
Provided photo/NOLA.com
Luke Letlow, recently elected U.S. Representative from Louisiana's 5th Congressional District.
84/92
Family photo
Louis Dirosa, former Orleans Parish Civil District Court judge and longtime local attorney.
85/92
NOLA.com
Lou Schwechheimer, former owner of the New Orleans Zephrs/Baby Cakes minor league baseball team.
86/92
NOLA.com
Joe Puglia, local journalist and public relations executive.
87/92
NOLA.com/Provided Photo
Alois J. “Butz” Binder Jr., the general manager and co-owner of the New Orleans bakery that bears his family name.
88/92
NOLA.com
Gypsy Lou Webb, the French Quarter bohemian who published the 1960s literary journal The Outsider and inspired a Bob Dylan song.
89/92
AP
Lucille Bridges, mother of civil rights icon Ruby Bridges, one of four children who integrated New Orleans public schools in 1960.
90/92
Courtesy NOLA.com
Joseph DeSalvo, attorney and founder of Faulkner House Books. He is pictured with his wife, Rosemary James.
91/92
NOLA.com
W.J. "Jimmy" Amoss Jr., former president of Lykes Bros. Steamship Co.
92/92
NOLA.com
Laura Painia Jackson, manager of the celebrated Dew Drop Inn in Central City.
1
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92
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Benjamin Bullins
Sidney Noel Rideau, who created and starred as the local icon Morgus the Magnificent.
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