Henry James Read

Henry James Read, a retired partner in the law firm of Montgomery, Barnett, Brown & Read, died at home on October 19, 2016. Mr. Read was a lifelong resident of New Orleans, attending Jesuit High School and graduating from the Loyola School of Law in 1941.

He was engaged in the practice of Admiralty law for over fifty years and was a life member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States. He was the recipient of the New Orleans Bar Association’s Distinguished Admiralty Attorney Award. He was Chairman of the Admiralty Section of the Louisiana in 1961-1962 and Chairman of the Labor Law Section in 1965-1966.

Mr. Read was a member of the original Advisory Board and Planning Committee of the Tulane Admiralty Law Institute and a member of the Advisory Council of the Loyola Law School. During World War II, he was a lieutenant in U.S. Coast Guard.

As a young lawyer, he was a trial attorney for the Criminal Division of the New Orleans Bar Association Legal Aid Bureau, representing indigent citizens. He served on the boards of the Children’s Bureau and the Family Service Society.

One of the more interesting litigations in which he was involved was the representation of the State of Louisiana as owner of the ferry George Prince which, on the morning of October 20, 1976, was in a collision with the Norwegian freighter Frosta in the Mississippi River near Hahnville, resulting in the death of seventy-four persons. Mr. Read appeared before a committee of the Louisiana Legislature to obtain an appropriation of funds for payment to the heirs of those who lost their lives in the tragedy.

Mr. Read was an honorary life member and former president of the Pickwick Club, a life member of the Stratford, and a senior member of the New Orleans Country Club.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Margaret (Peggy) Roemer Read and is survived by their daughters, Margaret Read Pontius (San Antonio, TX) and Katherine Read Ezell (Nashville, TN), their husbands Dr. Uwe Pontius and Steven Douglas Ezell, and three grandchildren Lauren Ezell Minear and her husband Rob (New York City), Read Douglas Ezell (Doha, Qatar), and Eleanor Baldwin Ezell (New York City).

The family would like to thank the caregivers and team of support provided in Mr. Read’s last years including: Dessie Batiste and Trishonda Herald; at Home Care Solutions (Phyllis Marks, Alicia Bailey, Sharon Williams, Arianne Burrell among others); and St. Joseph’s Hospice (Theresa Husnagel and Tara Stringer).

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Mr. Read’s memory to the Henry James Read Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund at the Loyola University College of Law, 7214 St. Charles Ave., Campus Box 909, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70118, Attn: Marcelle Highstreet.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Funeral Mass at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. in New Orleans, on Monday, October 24, 2016 at 1:00PM. A visitation will be held at the funeral home beginning at 11:00AM. Interment will follow in Metairie Cemetery.

To view and sign the guestbook, visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com.