Herbert Frank Wax Jr.

Herbert “Bert” Wax passed away peacefully after a short illness on May 31, 2025 at the age of 87. Bert was a native New Orleanian and a resident of Metairie since 1984. He was the only child of the late Augusta “Gussie” Henrietta Braun and Herbert Frank Wax, Sr. He was also proceeded in death by Emily Marie Borne, for whom he was married to for over 29 years until her death in 1986 and his son, Gregory Paul Wax.

Bert is survived by his wife of over 35 years, Shirley Seghers. He is also survived by his children, Bradley Wax (Cheri Fenner), Karen Falcon (James), stepchildren, Diane Griffin and David Griffin Jr., and stepsister, Jacquelyn Madden. Bert is also survived by his grandchildren, Amelie Wax Reeves (Brian), Ryan Wax, Garret Wax, and Meghan Falcon and step-grandchildren, Braeden and Brendan Bertucci. His surviving family continues with his great-grandchildren, Callen, Cohen, Paul, and Ainsley. Bert will be missed by many of his surviving cousins and friends.

Bert Wax grew up in Mid-City with a large and close family of aunts, uncles, and cousins all sharing one residence on Bienville St. He spent his summers and weekends working at his father’s and uncle Gus Rinderle’s hardware store, Broadmoor Hardware, on Broad St. where valuable lifelong experiences in business and people were learned. Graduating from Warren Easton High School in 1955 he joined the Coast Guard Reserve and served honorably until 1963. In 1956 he was hired at Hibernia Bank where he worked in various capacities for twenty years with his most cherished position being at the St. Claude branch location where lifetime friends and family where made. It was at Hibernia Bank that he met his first wife, Emily Borne, whom he eloped with in 1956 after a mere six months of dating. In 1976 he was hired by French Market Homestead and created a very successful Home Improvement and Consumer Lending Division where again he continued to make long term friends and family. During this time, he became a football referee for the LHSAA and officiated Louisiana High School football for twenty years. Leaving French Market Homestead in 1988 he was invested in several business ventures before becoming certified as a Residential Home Appraiser where he worked until he retired at age 82. Several years after his wife Emily’s death, Bert married Shirley Seghers, introducing him to a large and extended family that he loved and enjoyed.

Bert loved sports and was one of the first season ticket holders for Saints football, enjoying the friends and family who surrounded him for many years at Tulane stadium. He spent many weekends at his camp in Waveland, Ms., and reminisced about the great times from the many summers his family spent in Little Woods at Willis’s camp on the lake. Bert enjoyed golfing and sports, football and baseball particularly, and was an avid supporter of Ole Miss and Tulane athletics. He was also a former member of the Krewe of Pontchartrain and enjoyed gathering with his fellow Warren Easton Alumni. What Bert loved most was being surrounded by and spending time with friends and family while sharing the stories of his experiences he had with relatives he grew up with. He was a “live and let live” type of individual with compassion and love for all. We will miss him dearly.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday June 7, 2025 at Lake Lawn Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. New Orleans, LA. Visitation will be held from 11AM – 1PM with a service to begin at 1PM. Interment will follow at Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation in Bert’s memory to your local Humane Society.