Esperanza Gonzales Federico

Esperanza “Denise” Gonzales Federico, a beautiful wife, mother, and grandmother, peacefully passed on February 4, 2026, at the age of 79. She was born on July 24, 1946, in Monroe, Louisiana to Salvador Gonzales and Maria Margarita Romo Gonzales.

Our mother felt all children were God’s little angels. My mother worked as an assistant teacher with the special education students at Marie Riviere and the preschool children at Ecole Classique, but for her, it was never a job. She loved to make the children smile and feel loved. She had an imagination that was captivating, and as a child you wanted to be a part of it. These children were lucky to get just a taste of it, but my siblings and I got a lifetime of it that we have shared with our own children. The children she cherished the most, her special angels, were her grandchildren. She will be missed dearly by her three children Andrea Federico, Bryan Federico wife Ashley Federico, Monique Blount husband David Blount; and grandchildren Gabriella Federico, Samuel Perilloux, Jacquelyn Federico, Madison Federico, Maxwell Parker Federico, Mason James Blount, and Nathan John Blount, and great grandchild Layne Kevin Davis.

Esperanza grew up as one of 10 children in Monroe, Louisiana. She is survived by her sisters, Carmen Smith, Rose McVay, Theresa Hunt, Helen Hendricks, Margaret Gonzales, and Veronica Green, and her brother Sam Charles Gonzales and many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her sister, Rachel Strain and her brother, Jose Lupe Gonzales. Being raised in such a large family, our mother developed a life of humor and laughter. She saw herself as the clown of the family.

Later in life my mom pursued her love for laughter and graduated from a Stand-Up Comedy class from the University of New Orleans in 1991. She once said, “Nothing in the world is as great as making people laugh”, in an article in the New Orleans Magazine. Whether it was on stage at the Sheraton, Hyatt, Hilton, or at home, she never stopped with the jokes. The world was her playground, and she could always find humor in it.

Mom had a love for music and the arts (my father’s art). In 1995 she was the curator of an art gallery that Mayor Aaron Broussard envisioned as the flagship for an artist colony. My father was one out of three artists in that gallery. She was always by my father’s side as the curator, a sidekick on Jackson Square, or at home reassuring him that a painting he completed needed no further changes because it was beautiful. He cherished her advice, and they were a good team. As music went, my mother loved music of all kinds as long as she could dance to it. Her favorite would be Motown which is what we grew up on and is the staple of the music we listen to today.

My mother was loved dearly by her beloved husband Albert Federico. Her happiness was all that mattered to him in life. He loved to see her smile and listen to her laugh. They were married for 59 years.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral services at Grace Funeral Home, 450 Holy Trinity Drive, Covington, LA 70433 on Saturday, February 28 at 10:30AM, with a Catholic Service to follow at 12:00PM.

Burial will follow the services in St. Lazarus of Bethany Memorial Garden Cemetery.