A member of our team since 2010, Claire L. Edsall currently serves as our location manager. She is a graduate of Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service and holds dual licensure as a funeral director and embalmer in Texas and Louisiana. Claire is a member of both the National and Louisiana funeral directors associations.

Jamie L. Ballinger has been a licensed funeral director and embalmer since 2016. She received her Associate of Science in Mortuary Science from Delgado Community College in New Orleans. She is honored to serve the families of New Orleans as a part of our team. She is also a member of the Louisiana Funeral Director’s Association and the National Funeral Director’s Association.

Sharon A. Galman is a senior funeral director and embalmer. A member of our team since 1996, she has trained numerous funeral directors and support staff at our funeral home. She is a graduate of Delgado Community College and is a member of both the National and Louisiana funeral directors associations.

Chastity Hartman began her career on our team in January 2012. She received her associate in mortuary science from Delgado Community College and was proud to receive scholarships from the Funeral Service Foundation and Louisiana Funeral Director Association. She is a member of the National and Louisiana funeral directors associations.

A lifelong native of New Orleans, Chastity is a 2007 graduate of Immaculata High School. Before entering the funeral service industry, she spent years volunteering with Concerned Care Hospice.

A senior funeral director and embalmer, Guy Poche started his career on our team in 1998 and has served in multiple positions. Guy is a graduate of Delgado Community College and holds licensure in Louisiana and Illinois. He is a member of both the National and Louisiana funeral directors associations.

Michael S. Schumann received his bachelor’s degree in biological science from Loyola University New Orleans and his associate degree in mortuary science from Delgado Community College. A licensed funeral director and embalmer, Michael began working with Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home in 2012 and is honored to serve the families of New Orleans. He is a member of both the Louisiana and National funeral directors associations.

Since 1976, Richard has provided compassionate care to thousands in the New Orleans area. A fourth-generation funeral director, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University in 1977, after which he started serving families at his own family’s firm, McMahon-Coburn-Briede Funeral Home in Mid-City New Orleans. He joined the team at Lake Lawn Metairie nearly three decades ago.

Richard is active in numerous professional and community groups, including Al Briede Gold Cup & Foundation, Louisiana Cemetery Board (board member), Louisiana Cemetery Association (past president and board of directors), Louisiana Funeral Directors Association (past president), Allstate Sugar Bowl Committee (executive board and secretary), Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, TAF (LSU Tiger Athletic Foundation), Crescent City Tigers (LSU Alumni Association board member), LSU’s National L Club, LSU Alumni Association, SEMREH Club and the New Orleans Track Club. When he is not working or volunteering, he enjoys spending time with his wife, daughters and grandchildren.

Billy C. Henry has been a national board licensed funeral director and embalmer since 1973 and is an active community role model with a passion for serving the LGBTQ community of New Orleans. He is the past president and co-founder of Friday Night Before Mardi Gras, Inc., a non-profit fundraising organization providing support for LGBTQ communities. He previously served as president of Shelter Resources, also known as Belle Reve Transitional Homes, NO/AIDS Task Force and the Hospice Foundation of Greater New Orleans, among others. He is president of the Steamboat Club of New Orleans and continues to serve as an adjunct professor in the Funeral Service Education Department at Delgado Community College.

Michael has had rich career and long history of community service. For years he served as director of community relations for Stewart Enterprises and held a position on the company’s board of directors for two decades. Before joining Stewart, Michael worked in banking and law.

With a lifetime of commitment to his faith, higher education and the people of New Orleans, Michael’s contributions to the community include past chairman of the board of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans; emeritus member and a two-term past chair of the Board of Regents of Our Lady of Holy Cross College; past president of the alumni association of the University of Notre Dame and former member of the University’s Board of Trustees; past member of the President’s Advisory Council of Loyola University. Michael is a past board member of Holy Cross High School; the Academy of the Sacred Heart; The Greater New Orleans Foundation; Tulane University Hospital and Clinic; WLAE-TV; Charity Hospital of Louisiana; Touro Infirmary Foundation; YMCA; Metropolitan Area Committee; American Red Cross; the Bureau of Governmental Research; and the Louisiana Independent College Fund. He is currently a member of the Sugar Bowl.

Over the years, Michael has been honored by the Archdiocese of New Orleans with the Pro Eclesia Et Pontifice award (1989), Knight of St. Gregory (2000) and the Order of St. Louis (2003). In 2008, he received the Pope John Paul II Award from the Catholic Foundation of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He was recognized by Jesuit High School as its Alumnus of the Year in 2000. He was also honored by the University of Notre Dame with the Richard A. Rosenthal Award in 2006 and was elected honorary member of the University’s Monogram Club in 2007. Our Lady of Holy Cross College awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree in 1994, and in 2000 he and his wife received the Spes Unica Award from the college. Michael and Hope Read were also the joint recipients of the Alexis de Toqueville Award from the United Way of Greater New Orleans in 1997.

A native of New Orleans, he is a 1961 graduate of Jesuit High School and a 1965 graduate of the University of Notre Dame. He received his juris doctorate from Loyola University School of Law in 1968. He is a member of the New Orleans and Louisiana State bar associations. Michael and his wife have four children and two grandchildren.

Stephen Sontheimer is a fourth-generation funeral director whose family has been continuously involved in funeral service in New Orleans since 1916. A native and life-long resident who attended Isidore Newman School, Stephen graduated from Culver Military Academy followed by the Tulane University School of Business in 1964.

Stephen has a long-established connection with the business, cultural and religious communities of New Orleans. He has served as chapter chairman of the Young President’s Organization, board member for the Touro Infirmary, LCMC Health and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. He is a former president of Regional Loan Corporation and an early board member at the Contemporary Arts Center. Stephen was a founding member of Hospice New Orleans and served on the boards of the Tulane University Cancer Center and the Cancer Consortium.

A member of Touro Synagogue and Temple Sinai, Stephen served as board president of the Jewish Family Service and on the boards of the Jewish Welfare Federation, Touro Synagogue, Hebrew Rest Cemetery and the Anti-Defamation League. A former member of the Executive Committee of the Archbishop’s Community Appeal, he is a recipient of the Benemerenti Medal for service to the archdiocese and the Jewish Federation’s Lemann-Stern Leadership award.

Kailyn M. Milliet received her Associate of Applied Science at Delgado Community College and is a licensed funeral director and embalmer. She is an advocate for organ donation and animal rescue. Kailyn has worked for Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home since 2015 and is honored to serve the families of New Orleans. She is a member of both the Louisiana and National funeral directors associations.

The first funeral director hired when Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home opened in June 1979, Jerry has a career that spans more than 40 years. In 2008, he was named Louisiana Funeral Director of Year. Today, he serves as director of community relations at the funeral home.

Over the years, Jerry has held positions on the boards of many community and professional organizations, including Nunez Community College Foundation, Save Our Cemeteries, New Orleans Katrina Memorial Corporation, Louisiana Law Officers Enforcement Association, Fireman’s Charitable and Benevolent Association, Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency and Louisiana Central Credit Union. He is a past president of the Funeral Service Foundation, past secretary of the Louisiana Funeral Directors and Embalmers Regulatory Board, and past president of the Louisiana Funeral Directors Association. A graduate of Brother Martin High School, he also attended the University of New Orleans.

Jerry and his wife have one daughter. When he is not working, he and his wife enjoy traveling and playing golf.

A New Orleans native, Lydia DeSoto is a senior funeral director and has served in multiple capacities on our team since the early 1980s. Lydia was educated at St. Catherine of Siena, Archbishop Chapelle High School, Jefferson Parish Vocational Technical School and the University of New Orleans. She considers it a blessing to be able to serve our community families in their time of need. Lydia is a member of both the Louisiana and the National funeral directors associations.