Merle Alice Rayner Fields

Merle Alice Rayner Fields of New Orleans passed away peacefully surrounded by family on July 21, 2016, at the age of 94. Merle was the beloved wife of the late Harold Lewis Fields, Sr.; mother of Jeffrey Harold Fields and Harold Lewis Fields, Jr.; mother-in-law of the late Carolyn Naccari Fields and Rose Harris Fields; daughter of the late Sydney Edouard Rayner and the late Eva Dinkel Rayner; sister of the late Trilby Rayner Morales (Carlos) and the late Eric Rayner (Lois); grandmother of David Jeffrey Fields (Candy), Laura Fields Morton (Ralph), Melissa Fields Dalton (Bill), Daniel Jeffrey Fields (Melony), Douglas Jeffrey Fields (Reily), Minh Van Le (Bonnie), Shannon Fields Tujague (Mike), Stephen Harold Fields and Jennifer Rose Fields; and great-grandmother to 16 great grandchildren. Merle was born on February 13, 1922, in New Orleans.The daughter of acclaimed tenor Sydney Rayner, Merle spent a number of her childhood years living in Milan and Paris. She was a graduate of John McDonough High School and Loyola University of New Orleans College of Music. She was the first teacher at St. Louis King of France School in Metairie. She taught piano to the children of New Orleans for half a century, and was an adjudicator and member of the Louisiana Federation of Music Teachers. She was a yoga instructor and an active member at the Sisters of St. Joseph People Program in New Orleans, a preschool French teacher in Covington, LA, and volunteer at WLAE-TV in New Orleans. Following Hurricane Katrina she relocated to Covington. Merle doted on her children and grandchildren, loved to travel, and was passionate about music, the arts, and the Saints. She will forever be cherished and greatly missed. Friends and family are invited to attend the visitation from 9:00-11:00 AM followed by the funeral mass at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, at Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. Interment to follow in Metairie Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Children’s Miracle Network at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital (ololchildrens.org)