Gladys Gay LeBreton

Gladys Gay LeBreton died on January 2, 2023, at the age of 102, still with a zest for life and always looking forward. She was born on November 13, 1920, at St. Louis Plantation in Iberville Parish to U.S. Senator Edward J. Gay and Gladys Fenner Gay. She was the youngest of 5 siblings, with whom she was very close.

When Gladys was 13, the family moved to New Orleans. She attended McGehee School. Gregarious and blessed with a warm heart, she formed many close friendships that lasted a lifetime. During the midst of COVID, McGehee honored her on her 100th birthday with a choral rendition of Happy Birthday.

Gladys was fortunate to travel from a young age. In 1936, she visited Europe, including Nazi Germany during the Berlin Olympics. Her recollections were vivid. Stepping off the sidewalk, she remembered Nazi authorities yelling at her as soldiers goose stepped by. She found them frightening.

Gladys returned with a new appreciation for foreign affairs and languages and graduated from Warrenton Country School in Virginia, where classes were taught entirely in French. She attended Newcomb College to study music. She recalled listening to President Franklin Roosevelt’s speech declaring war on Germany broadcast to a full house in Newcomb College’s Dixon Hall. As a debutante, Gladys was the 1941 Queen of Comus, after which Mardi Gras balls were suspended for the duration of WWII.

Always an activist, Gladys took pride in helping the community and nation. During the war, Gladys participated in a secret effort based in the old Maison Blanche building, to track and monitor German submarines in the Gulf of Mexico. She rarely discussed this work, and it comes now as a revelation to some family members.

In 1947, Gladys married her beloved husband, Edward Francis LeBreton, Jr. and they began a family, having three children. Eddie and his partner, George Martin, had started Martin-LeBreton Insurance Agency in 1945. In 1952, guided by his close friendships with Hale and Lindy Boggs and Chep Morrison, Eddie was elected to represent the 92nd District in the Louisiana State Legislature. For 24 years, Gladys was a supportive political wife, providing considerable assistance to him.

Always, Gladys found time to volunteer, despite many demands on her time. She served on the Board of Directors of the United Way, Travelers Aid Society, the Community Chest and Junior League of New Orleans, among others. During her time as president of the Protestant Children’s Home, she and her fellow Board members determined to change the direction of this underutilized asset, sold their building on Magazine Street (now the Orphanage apartment building) and founded The Greenhouse in Faubourg Marigny to provide a safe haven for runaway youths.

The great tragedy of her life was the death of her husband Eddie at age 70. Some people might have retreated inward, but not Gladys. Eddie was in a nursing home in the last year of his life. After his death, having seen the difficulties of inadequate nursing care, Gladys became one of the first certified ombudsman in the U.S., and worked with residents of the Crescent City Health Care Center. She also became President of Citizens for Quality Nursing Home Care. She helped lead the successful battle in Baton Rouge to persuade legislators to pass an historic Patient’s Bill of Rights, which defined standards of care for nursing home residents. For her leadership on elderly care and other issues, she was named the Junior League of New Orleans Sustainer of the Year in 1989.

Gladys was a woman of faith devoted to Trinity Episcopal Church and served on its Vestry. Its programs were integral to her life. She particularly admired the Trinity Educational Enrichment Program (TEEP), which provides life-changing academic and cultural experiences for New Orleans’ youth. She also served as a board member of Episcopal Housing for Seniors, the organization that established Lambeth House, a highly successful continuing care retirement community. Gladys happily resided there for the past decade.

Gladys was a fearsome bridge player and friend. She played with disciplined expertise, and more times than not, she won. She had happy memories of 50 years as a member of the “20 Tens” Investment Club, 40 years of the Every Other Tuesday Bridge Club and more recently, weekly drinks and dinner with her “Lundi Ladies” friends at Lambeth House.

But always central to her life was her family. She took a deep interest in her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, in whom she inspired deep love and affection. Gladys is survived by her 3 children: Edward Francis LeBreton, III (Bret) and his wife, Rose McCabe LeBreton (Rosie); Gladys Fenner Gay LeBreton (Gay) and her husband, James P. Farwell; and Robert Aime LeBreton and his wife, Cynthia Louise Demarest LeBreton. Gladys adored her three grandchildren: grandson Edward F LeBreton IV (Eddie), his wife, Jennifer Anne Sennott LeBreton (Jenny), and their 2 children Annabelle, and Edward (Teddy), all of San Francisco; her granddaughter Julie LeBreton Tritschler, her husband, Charles Matthew Tritschler, III (Matt) and their 2 children, Katherine (Kate) and Charles (Charlie); and her granddaughter Amelie Rose LeBreton.

She was always up to date on the extensive and loving family descended from her 4 siblings, who pre-deceased her, and her many cousins. Her family valued her involvement and institutional knowledge of the family sugar business in Iberville Parish. Gladys enjoyed tracing the Gay, Fenner and LeBreton family genealogies.

Elegant, gracious, and to the end a role model for family and friends, without doubt, she is now sharing that smile, and a martini, in the eternal company of her husband, Eddie.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the TEEP program at Trinity Episcopal Church (1329 Jackson Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130), or the charity of your choice.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the caring staff of St Anna’s at Lambeth House.

A memorial service will be held to celebrate Gladys’ life on Saturday, January 14th at Christ Church Cathedral at 11:00 am. Visitation will be at 10:00 am. Interment will be private.

To view and sign the online guest book, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com.