Ann Dampeer Humphreys

She was born on December 29, 1930 in Jackson, Mississippi, the only child of Anna Crisler Dampeer and Lemuel Marion Dampeer, III. She attended Millsaps College for two years and then graduated from L.S.U. School of Music in voice as a mezzo soprano. She made her debut in Jackson, Miss., then moved to New Orleans in 1954 as a bride, where her husband, Buel H. Humphreys, Jr., was employed in the oil business.

She was a member of Chi Omega Sorority, the Junior League, the Orleans Club, and Le Petit Salon. She was a former president of Town and Country Garden Club and Chapter T, P.E.O. She was a board member or officer of the Fine Arts Club, the Women’s Guild of the New Orleans Opera Association, Raintree Services, Julien Poydras Home Auxiliary, Amici, Jefferson Davis Chapter UDC, New Orleans Chapter D.A.R., and the New Orleans Garden Society. She was also a member of the Audubon Garden Club, the Huguenot Society, and the Junior League Lunch Bunch.

When she was 16 years old and visiting her aunt in New York, she was asked to be a Conover model. Conover and Powers were the top modelling agencies in New York; however, her mother said that instead of becoming a Conover model, she had to finish school and go to college.

One of her greatest loves was for opera and the human voice. At the age of 18, she entered a city-wide audition to sing the role of Mercedes in the Jackson Opera Company production of Carmen. She won the part and had the special chance to sing with the great tenor, David Poleri of the New York City Opera Company.

In her last two years of majoring in voice at L.S.U., she sang Mrs. Nolan in The Medium by Menotti her junior year and Cherabino in The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart her senior year. During her college years, she performed as a church soloist at Galloway Memorial Methodist Church, sang in weddings and at luncheons and over the radio, and, on several occasions, sang at the Governor’s Mansion.

She always enjoyed volunteer work and, in 1992, was honored as a Great Lady by the East Jefferson General Hospital Auxiliary.

Bridge was her favorite hobby and she played with a regular group for many years.

She attended Munholland Methodist Church, where she raised her children, taught Sunday school, and daily vacation bible school. She also served on the finance committee and sang in the choir for many years. In her later years, she joined Rayne Memorial Methodist Church, where she enjoyed volunteer work on Friday mornings.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Buel Hall Humphreys, Jr., and a son, Dwight Walker Humphreys. She is survived by her three children, Carol Lynn Humphreys of Metairie, Buel Hall Humphreys, III, of Metairie, and David Dampeer Humphreys of Atlanta, Georgia, and two grandchildren, Adair Elizabeth Humphreys and John Walker Humphreys of Atlanta, Georgia.

The family would like to give special thanks to Anne Favret with Tulane Doctors Connected Care, Georgette Cleworth with Hospice Associates, and Sheniqua Brown with A First Name Basis.

Services will be held on Saturday, July 10, 2021 at Lake Lawn Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Boulevard in New Orleans, LA 70124. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. followed by a service in the chapel at 11:00 a.m. Interment to follow at All Saints Mausoleum.

Those wishing to leave their fond memories or condolences for the family are encouraged to sign the online guestbook at www.lakelawnmetairie.com