Shirley Burvant Schwartz

Mom was a lifetime daughter of New Orleans, born in the family home on Robert Street on January 9, 1929 and passed away on August 20, 2025. Recently when asked, she would declare her age as, “96 and a half”.

She is survived by her daughter Elizabeth Ann Griffith (Jeffery), and her son August Gerard Schwartz. She is predeceased by her husband Eugene August Schwartz, her eldest daughter Mary Louise Schwartz, her father Julien Joseph Burvant, her mother Gertrude Santana Burvant, and her brother Dr. Julien Robert Burvant. It's important to note that Mom was devastated by the loss of her sister-in-law, Josie Corte Burvant, also 96 years old, who passed away in April of this year. Mom and Josie were classmates at Loyola both studying Medical Technology.

Mom was proud to have descended from the families of Antonio Mondelli and his son-in-law Leon Daniel Pomarede, both early artists in the city of New Orleans and both having contributed greatly to the artwork of our Catholic diocese. Most recognizable of that work is Pomarede’s three panel fresco painted behind the alter of St Patrick’s Church in New Orleans.

Mom was the only girl in her extended family that was comprised of her brother Bob, and cousins Urban and Donald Pfefferle. Almost the same age and considered as family was John “Jack” May who was adopted by her grandmother Lutille Pomarede Santana. We have many family photos of mom, Bob, Urban, Donald and Jack, who we always called, “Uncle Jack”.

Shirley was a graduate of Dominican High School and Cum Laude, Loyola University, class of 1949, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology.

Mom was a devout Catholic, originally a congregant at St. Andrew the Apostle and for the most recent decades at Holy Spirit, both in Algiers. For decades mom enjoyed annual retreats at the Cenacle, where she served as a retreat captain for the Archdiocese of New Orleans Retreat Center.

In 1963, as a young mother of three, mom joined ranks with several other New Orleans mothers, including Delores Cunningham and Jane Lambert, to found Children’s House, the first Montessori school in New Orleans. She later poured her energies into Montessori education, becoming a Montessori directress certified by Montessori World Education Institute, San Luis Obispo, CA and St Nicholas Training Center, London England. She continued her studies in early childhood development at Xavier University and the University of California, Santa Barbara. Mom taught at Children’s House Montessori for many years and eventually opened her own school, HOPE Montessori, (House Of Preprimary Education). After she retired from classroom teaching mom was proud to assist with the education and certification process for Montessori teachers - this primarily with Teri Bickham at Oaks Montessori in Hammond. In addition to being a founding member of Children’s House Inc, she was a founding member of The Greater New Orleans Montessori Society. In her mid 80’s after 30 years she finally retired completely from Montessori education.

For many years mom enjoyed studying french at Alliance Francaise of New Orleans. Mom was an active participant and student at the People Program, a non profit providing diverse classes to seniors. Her passion with languages first led her there to refresh her French and she eventually taught both entry level and intermediate French classes. In addition to teaching she took classes in Italian, art history, word processing and many other subjects.

Second only to her children were her pets. Mom greatly loved her animals and her home was never without a cat or two, or a dog. Even until her death she talked regularly about her last and most beloved dog and companion Cheri who passed two years ago.

Mom loved seafood and her favorite was a good fried soft shell crab from any corner of the city. And she loved breakfast or lunch at La Madeleine where her favorite meal was croque monsieur with a cup of French roast coffee. In recent years her favorite local casual dining spots were Dimartinos and Olive Branch. We would be remiss to not mention our many family outings to the now long gone Berdou’s restaurant with Madam Berdou in Gretna, Fitzgeralds seafood restaurant at the lakefront, and De-No Seafood restaurant Gretna. She loved studying languages, reading mystery novels, and spending time in her garden. Mom had a green thumb and a particular passion for antique roses.

The family would like to give special thanks to Deb Pamplin and her son Justin who originally began as twice a week dog walkers but who later became indispensable helpers and close friends.

Lastly, we each have angels in our life and mom’s angel was her care giver, close friend and companion, Janice Thomas. Janice cared for mom for the better part of a decade, managing her household, doctor visits, medications, shopping and meals, arranging weekend care givers (thank you Donna Perkins and Tammy Nora), and all aspects of her life. She became an indispensable part of mom’s life and we are forever indebted to her. We wholeheartedly trusted Janice to care for our mom, and without her we could not have kept our promise to keep mom at home till the end - which she did. To our angel Janice, thank you for helping us, guiding us and holding our hands along the journey of elder care.

A mass celebrating mom will be held at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70124 on October 11 at 10 am. Visitation will be at 9:00 . By then Elizabeth and I will have already placed mom’s ashes in the mausoleum in Lake Lawn with Mary and Dad. In lieu of flowers please support your local SPCA or just adopt a pet and love it. To view and sign the online guestbook, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com