Jaclyn Drackett Cutrone

Jaclyn Elizabeth Drackett Cutrone, age 96, died peacefully at her home on September 26, 2026, surrounded by her family. Jaclyn was born in Morgan City, Louisiana, on February 19, 1930, to Catherine Griffin “Griff” (nee Hebert) and John Robert “Jack” Drackett.

Jaclyn, known to most as “Jackie” (and later as “Beba”, the nickname her eldest grandchild bestowed upon her), was a devoted wife and mother and all that those titles entail.

At 22, in 1952, Jackie married the love of her life, Camille Anthony Cutrone. The two, whose lives intersected early on, shared a dance class as toddlers, and were schoolmates in junior high, where Camille spotted a teenage Jackie who “cut quite a figure” with her dark wavy hair. They began dating in high school.

After high school, Jackie followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a nurse, working as both an ER nurse and nurse recruiter. Once married, she became a military wife while her husband served as a commissioned officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army. Following the Army, Camille established a law practice in New Orleans where the couple made their home for more than seven decades.

In 1956 Jackie gave birth to her first of four daughters. As a wife and mother, she used her many talents to assemble everything from tailgate lunches to holiday feasts; shared her nursing skills by serving as a substitute nurse during her daughters’ years at the Academy of the Sacred Heart; and brought her love for service to others to her involvement in civic and charitable organizations such as the Girl Scouts, DePaul Hospital Guild, St. Elizabeth’s and St. Michael’s Special School.

As the Cutrone family expanded to include grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Jackie’s dedication to family expanded as she attended everything from plays and recitals to horse shows. She brought undivided attention, maternal instinct, and a gregarious, joyful personality to the task. Her husband routinely described her as “effervescent” and “vivacious”, and in a lighthearted nod to the way she saw to the needs of others as “service-oriented”.

Reading and needlepoint were among Jackie’s favorite pastimes. She read “whodunits” by the bagful and passed them on to friends and neighbors. She was charmed by classic films, many from her youth, and shared her love of movies with her girls early in their lives. A lifelong football fan, the soft-spoken Jackie was so opinionated about referee calls that her eldest daughter gave her a set of penalty flags to use during games.

Jackie is survived by her husband, her four daughters Candace Cutrone (the late Ted Strickland), Catherine McMichael (Kevin), Lee Cutrone, and Jackie Smart (Frank), her grandchildren Ryan Littlewood (Emily), Lauren Lemoine (Logan), Collin McMichael, Alden Littlewood and Michael Smart (Kathryn), step-grandchildren Daniel Smart (Patty), Katie Raymond (Craig), and Matthew Strickland, great-grandchildren Evangeline “Evie” Lemoine and June Littlewood, step-great-grandchild William Lemoine, her sister Joan Garber, nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews, as well as numerous adoring granddogs.

Jackie was preceded in death by her beloved parents and her brothers Roy G. “Mike” Simmons and John Robert Drackett, Jr.

The family wishes to express its sincere appreciation and heartfelt gratitude to Jackie’s devoted group of caregivers.

All who knew and loved Jackie will miss her elegance, her infectious love of life and beauty, and her radiant smile.

Visitation will take place Friday, October 9, 2026, at 10 a.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1329 Jackson Avenue, New Orleans, LA. Funeral with Holy Eucharist will follow at 11 a.m. Private burial will take place at Metairie Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial contributions to Trinity Episcopal Church or St. Michael’s Special School, 1522 Chippewa Street, New Orleans, LA, 70130.