Barbara Béchet Bradley Ramirez

One Christmas Day, Barbara was heard to remark that as the only child of an only child, she had always hoped to have a large family. That prayer was granted. Barbara is survived by her five children: William Bradley Ramirez (Sharon), Robert Bradley Ramirez (Mary), Barbara Béchet Bradley Ramirez Alpaugh (Billy), Alfred Edmund Ramirez III, and Alicia Ashley Ramirez Little (Robert). She is survived also by twelve grandchildren: Emily (Eugenio Hernandez), George, and Robert Ramirez; William (Elizabeth), Buddy (Tatum), Bradley (Jerry Friedrichs), and Virginia (Calvin Miller) Alpaugh; and M'adele, Marguerite, Duffy, William, and Thérèse Little. Nor have the blessings of great grandchildren been lacking: Marguerite, Charlie, Sedley, and Annie Friedrichs; and Robert Bradley Alpaugh have come into the world in these latter years, and with recent marriages in the family, there are hopes for more to follow.

Barbara was born at St. Elizabeth's Hospital on the upper West Side of Manhattan on October 23, 1931, the only child of Ethel Béchet Bradley of New York City, and Robert Butler Bradley of Kilkenny, Ireland. She was fiercely proud of her New York origin and upbringing, never losing her affection for her native state, and never ceasing to reach for it as the touchstone of her true identity. Her father died when Barbara was still a child, so during the critical years of adolescence her older half sister Virginia, and her husband Colonel William Shepherd, stepped into the role of fairy godparents. During the Second World War, Barbara lived with Virginia and Bill on Governors Island in New York harbor, where Bill was a staff officer, and where Barbara made friends who remained close the rest of her life. There were also many happy days with Virginia and Bill at their country house in Katonah, NY, in Narragansett, RI, and in Washington DC. Shortly before Virginia's premature death, she arranged for eighteen-year-old Barbara to sail on the Queen Mary to take in a European tour.

After her wartime education at the small public school on Governors Island, Barbara attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, Connecticut, and later split her time on long daily subway commutes between the Professional Children's School and rigorous daily lessons in classical ballet in New York. She graduated from Edgewood Park boarding school, followed by a course of secretarial studies at Katherine Gibbs.

The pivot of Barbara's life was in 1951 when she traveled to New Orleans to make her debut in the city where her grandfather's family had deep roots. It was there that she met her future husband, the late Dr. Alfred Edmund Ramirez, Jr., and on November 29, 1952 they were married at St. Thomas More Church on Manhattan's East Side. They returned to New Orleans, where they made their home and raised their children uptown.

Barbara had an active Catholic faith. Until a very advanced age, she assisted at daily Mass at Holy Name of Jesus Church, and was a frequent visitor to its adoration chapel. Her Sunday place of worship was St. Patrick's Church, at the traditional Latin Mass. She had a special devotion to her fellow New Yorker, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, and saw to it that her home was well supplied with images of the Lily of the Mohawks.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting Masses or a donation to the Servants of Mary (Ministers to the Sick), 5001 Perlita St. in New Orleans 70122.

A requiem Mass will be offered at St. Patrick's Church (724 Camp St.) on Friday August 2, at 2:30 p.m. Interment will follow immediately afterwards.