Geraldine "Gerry" St. Germain Malone

Gerry St. Germain Malone, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, died at the age of 84 on Sunday, December 29, 2024, with family by her side. Affectionately known as “Jay” by close family and friends, she was born in Brusly St. Vincent and was a native of Paincourtville, Louisiana. Gerry is preceded in death by her second husband, Bernard L. Malone, Jr. and is survived by her three children and his three children, all six of whom they shared, Myles Schexnayder, Todd Schexnayder (Melissa), Lisa Schexnayder Perdue, M.D. (Paul), Bernard L. Malone III, Cindy Malone Hunt (Jerry), and Elizabeth Malone Troia (Carl). “Grangerry” will be missed by her grandchildren, Carl Jr., Timothy, Rose, Sophia, Alexandra, Mary, Jacob, Chloe, Aaron, Fletcher, and Marie. She is survived by 15 great-grandchildren and her first soon-to-be born great-great grandson.

She is also survived by two sisters, Lois St. Germain Olivier, Marcy St. Germain Thibodeaux (Craig); brother, Floyd St. Germain (Josephine); godchild, Donnie Olivier; life-long friends Carol Lapeze Davis and Barbara Smith Akins, and many others. She is preceded in death by her parents, Eves Francais St. Germain and Marie Louise Daigle St. Germain; sister, Gail St. Germain Blanchard; daughter-in-law, Brenda C. Malone; her husband’s son, Michael D. Malone; and her first husband, Carl Schexnayder. Following a long, slow decline from Lewy body dementia, she sustained a stroke one week prior to her passing. Despite dementia being a lifelong fear, she faced it head on with positivity and continued sharing her contagious smile.

She loved to travel and along with her husband hosted many family vacations of snow skiing and traveling abroad. Gerry’s favorite thing to do was to give her time, talent and money to others, especially to those in need. She was known for recognizing what help someone was going to need, even before they knew it themselves. Mentorship, one of her favorite activities, proved to be effective with her children, grandchildren, other family members, friends, and colleagues. She taught life’s lessons to so many people, always in a very direct manner. Her children and grandchildren benefited from her writing ability, and some credit her with teaching them how to write well. With a passion for theater and Broadway musicals, she was a long-time patron and donor of Theatre Baton Rouge. Christmas gifts often consisted of donations to family members’ charities of choice. Cooking crawfish stew for family events was a talent of which her children still try to copy. She loved her Cajun heritage and spent time in Nova Scotia and courthouses researching it.

Gerry spent 20 years as a law office manager for the firm of McKinnis, Juban & Bevan in Baton Rouge. She was a certified Professional Legal Secretary and Certified Legal Assistant, and was active in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and National Association of Legal Secretaries. Gerry served as the president of the Louisiana Association of Legal Secretaries. She was editor of the Louisiana Legal Secretaries Handbook and associate editor of the Legal Secretary’s Concise Dictionary. She served on the National Association of Legal Support Professionals (NALS) Continuing Education Council and chaired the NALS Manual Committee. She served on the NALS national teaching staff and was instrumental in the development of two legal textbooks, The Career Legal Secretary and The Career Legal Secretary, Advanced.

In 1980, Gerry worked as a management consultant in the legal profession with Bradford Hildebrandt Co., Inc. until she retired as a full partner in 1995. During this time, she was a speaker and faculty member for various organizations, including the State Bar of Texas and the Southwest Texas College graduation ceremony. She co-authored the book Anatomy of a Merger with Bradford W. Hildebrandt. She served on the faculty of the State Bar of Texas Professional Development Program. The Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association acknowledged her leadership in 1994-1996 and the College of Law Practice Management recognized her as a fellow for her contributions in 2000.

After retirement, she served as the volunteer director for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) for 10 years and was instrumental in furthering the development of the Uniforms for Kids program. She was considered the mother of the program and helped expand it to 12 parishes which have served over 250,000 children. For her volunteerism, her team won the Illumination Award at SVdP in 2004. Due to her generosity and passion for assisting others, she was the recipient of one of the most prestigious awards given in Baton Rouge, the Kirschman’s Golden Heart Award, in 2004. WAFB Channel 9 in Baton Rouge featured her multiple times on their series, Where Service Matters, and she was awarded the Hibernia/WAFB-TV Volunteerism Award. She was made Honorary Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge in 2002 to honor her service to the Greater Baton Rouge community.

Visitation will be at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Paincourtville, LA, located at 114 LA 403, Napoleonville, LA 70390 (also known as 119 LA-403) on Friday, January 10, 2025 at 10:00 am until a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 am. Interment will immediately follow at the church cemetery. Pallbearers are Carl Troia, Jr., Timothy Hunt, Jacob Hunt, Aaron Schexnayder, Jerry Hunt, Carl Troia, and Floyd St. Germain. Honorary pallbearers are Paul Perdue, and Donnie Olivier.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her memory to the Uniforms for Kids program, Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Greater Baton Rouge, P.O. Box 127, Baton Rouge, LA 70821, or at www. Svdpbr.net, and the Altrusa Club of Baton Rouge Foundation, Inc., 16246 Shenandoah Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70817.