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LIGGETT, MARIAN RITA HELLER
09/28/2002
Marian Rita Heller Liggett, a homemaker, died Wednesday of cancer at Metropolitan Hospice. She was 72. Mrs. Liggett was born in New Orleans and lived in Chalmette for the past 40 years. Survivors include a son, Kevin Liggett; a daughter, Geralyn Wells; three sisters, Grace Nata, Joyce Simmons and Lois Henry; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A Mass will be said Monday at 1 p.m. at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 3700 Jean Lafitte Pkwy. in Chalmette. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. Bernard Memorial Funeral Home, 701 W. Virtue St. in Chalmette. Burial will be in St. Bernard Memorial Gardens.
HARMON, JOHNNY P.
09/28/2002
Johnny Harmon, 90, lived with leprosy
Johnny P. Harmon, a longtime leprosy patient at Carville who devoted his life to shattering misunderstandings about the disease, died Wednesday in Baton Rouge. He was 90.
Mr. Harmon, who had lived in and near the 340-acre Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center since 1935, built a photography business in nearby Vacherie, married
a fellow patient and had two children, neither of whom contracted the disease.
Since Mr. Harmon's arrival at the center, leprosy has become known as Hansen's disease, and drugs developed at the center allow treatment on an outpatient basis. These medicines thwart the bacterial infection, but they do not reverse its effects, which can include lesions, loss of feeling in the affected area, paralysis and blindness.
"They changed the name, but we haven't changed the disease," Mr. Harmon said in an interview. "People are still afraid of us. . . . I want them to know that it's not contagious, and people are not lepers, they're people."
A native of Hankamer, Texas, Mr. Harmon first came to Carville in 1934, accompanying his brother Elmo who was going to Carville because he had leprosy; they traveled to the center from the Harmons' east Texas home.
One year later, Johnny Harmon returned as a patient at the former plantation about 60 miles upriver from New Orleans. At that time, most patients' relatives abandoned them because of the disgrace associated with leprosy.
"It was scary when you walked down the walk," Mr. Harmon said. "The first man I saw had his face and his arms and his legs all wrapped up. He was blind. . . . You'd see people with no noses, only holes in their heads."
Except for a clawlike left hand, the result of muscle atrophy, Mr. Harmon escaped disfigurement because he volunteered to test an experimental machine that killed the bacilli in his system.
He was declared disease-free and allowed to return in 1938 to his job as an engineer with the Texas Highway Department. His brother Elmo eventually died and was sent home in a coffin that had been soldered shut.
In 1942, Johnny Harmon's disease reappeared, and he returned to Carville. Because he responded well to treatment, he was offered his Texas job again, but he decided to stay in Louisiana because he had begun to put down roots. He and his wife, Anne, moved into a home in Vacherie and lived there until 1993, when they took an apartment at the center for easy access to treatment for Hansen's disease's lingering effects.
Mr. Harmon wrote "King of the Microbes," a book about the disease, and appeared in a documentary, "Secret People," about the country's only residential Hansen's disease center.
Despite the disease's effects and lingering stigmas, Mr. Harmon remained upbeat.
"God's been good to me, in spite of the disease," he said. "You may think I'm crazy, but I think I've lived a fuller life because I've had the disease, because I've met all kinds of people that I wouldn't have met before."
Survivors include a son, Johnny C. Harmon; a daughter, Anne H. Brett; and five grandchildren.
A Mass will be said today at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Vacherie. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
BREEDLOVE, DOLORES ‘DEE-DEE'
09/26/2002
Dolores "Dee-Dee" Breedlove, a homemaker, died Friday at her home. She was 81. Mrs. Breedlove was born in St. Louis and lived in Carriere, Miss. Survivors include a son, Gary Thomas Breedlove of Metairie; a daughter, Karen Jane Loper of Dallas; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A funeral will be held Friday at 2 p.m. at McDonald Funeral Home in Picayune, Miss. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. and continue after the service until 4 p.m.
LARSON, NEAL STEVEN
09/28/2002
Neal Steven Larson, a salesperson with Lacombe True Value Hardware Store, died Wednesday at Slidell Memorial Hospital after being struck by lightning. He was 49. Mr. Larson was born in Levittown, Pa., and lived in Lacombe for nine years. He was an honors graduate of California State University in San Bernardino, Calif. He was a former manager of Southern Scrap Yard and was a former landscaper for Lacombe Nursery. He was an Army veteran. Survivors include his wife, Janice Pigott Oertel Larson; a daughter, Melanie Rogers of Felda, Fla.; two stepsons, Joseph and Carl James Oertel of Slidell; a stepdaughter, Julie Oertel Watson of Slidell; two brothers, Dean Larson of Brownsville, N.J., and Glen Larson of Canton, N.Y.; and three grandchildren. Services will be held at a later date. Honaker Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
GELPI, ELAINE HERBERT
09/24/2002
Elaine Herbert Gelpi, an artist and homemaker, died Sunday of cancer at her home. She was 79. Mrs. Gelpi was a lifelong resident of New Orleans. She was a graduate of Eleanor McMain High School. She had been an elder at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church and a member of the Orleans Club, the Garden League, the Whimsies and the Friday Afternoon Club. Survivors include a son, Robert W. Merrick; two daughters, Patricia M. Brinson and Susan M. Harberson; eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and many stepgrandchildren and stepgreat-grandchildren. A funeral will be held today at 2 p.m. at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church, 1545 State St. Visitation will begin at noon. Burial will be in Lake Lawn Mausoleum. Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
CLOUATE, CLAIRE MARIE MADDIE
09/29/2002
Claire Marie Maddie Clouate, a homemaker, died Friday of a heart attack at Ochsner Foundation Hospital. She was 54. Mrs. Clouate was born in Arabi and lived in Metairie for the past 35 years. She graduated from Chalmette High School. She was a member of Faithful Word Assembly Church. Survivors include her husband, Adam David Clouate; a son, David Anthony Clouate; two daughters, Michelle Claire Clouate and Angelle Clouate Enriquez; and a brother, Jeremiah Cronin of Pearlington, Miss. A funeral will be held Monday at 1 p.m. at Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home, 4747 Veterans Blvd. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Greenwood cemetery.
WILEY, WILLIAM M.
09/27/2002
William M. Wiley, owner and operator of Water King of the South, died Sept. 7 of cancer at his home. He was 63. Mr. Wiley was born in Memphis, Tenn., and lived in Metairie for 40 years. He was a former regional manager for Cessna Aircraft Co. He was a civic activist, serving as chairman of the Neighborhood Watch program and president of the Pontchartrain Shores Civic Association. He was a founding member of Victims and Citizens Against Crime and founder of the first private security patrol in Pontchartrain Shores. He was an Air Force veteran and a parishioner of St. Ann's Church in Metairie. Survivors include his wife, Marie Ramsey Wiley; a son, William Mark Wiley of Memphis; a daughter, Catherine Marie Wiley; a sister, Sandra Wiley Grace of Oakland, Tenn.; and two grandchildren. A graveside service was held Sept. 11 at Memory Hill Gardens in Memphis. A memorial was held Sept. 17 at Fellowship Baptist Church in Metairie.
FISHER, JOSEPH E. SR.
09/30/2002
Joseph E. Fisher Sr., a retired baker for Bunny Bread, died Wednesday of a stroke at Lane Hospital in Zachary. He was 74. Mr. Fisher was born in Bunkie, lived in New Orleans for many years and lived in Jackson for the past nine years. He was a retired member of a Masonic Order in New Orleans. Survivors include four sons, Ronald, William, Louis and Joseph E. Fisher Jr.; five daughters, Patricia Celestine, Paulette Lewis and Talano Bolden and Paula and Celeste Fisher; a brother, Otis Pernell; two sisters, Alberta Darby and Bernice Fisher; 26 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. A funeral will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Louisiana Undertaking Co., 1449 N. Claiborne Ave. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Resthaven cemetery.
CRAMOND, CHIYOKO SHIMAZU
09/25/2002
Chiyoko Shimazu Cramond, a homemaker, died Sunday of cancer at Tulane University Medical Center. She was 69. Mrs. Cramond was born in Yokohama, Japan, and lived in Gretna for the past 44 years. Survivors include her husband, Gustave P. Cramond Jr.; three sons, Gustave P. Cramond III and James E. and Gary A. Cramond; a brother, Akira Shimazu of Japan; a sister, Kimiko Shimazu of Japan; and four grandchildren. A funeral will be held today at 1 p.m. at Mothe Funeral Home, 2100 West Bank Expressway, Harvey. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park in Gretna.
WALLACE, ISHMEL SR.
09/27/2002
Ishmel Wallace Sr., a retired laborer, died Saturday at Memorial Medical Center. He was 81. Mr. Wallace was born in Central and lived in New Orleans. Survivors include three sons, James Pierre, Morris and Ishmel Wallace Jr.; nine daughters, Terry Cannon Wallace of Houston, Julie Porter and Barbara Patterson of Los Angeles and Savannah Johnpire, Angelina Wallace, Paulette Wallace Kagler, Claudette W. Foster, Yolanda Porter and Linda King; a brother, Samuel LeBlanc; 50 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren. A funeral will be held today at 2 p.m. at Willing Workers Baptist Church, 2715 Washington Ave. Visitation will begin at noon. Burial will be in Providence Memorial Park. Gertrude Geddes Willis Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
