A devout Catholic and daily communicant at St. Francis Xavier Church, Ken lived alone for the past seven years at the Metairie home he had shared with his wife of nearly 20 years, Jeannette (Jean) Chassaignac, until her death in 2013.
Ken was a graduate of New Orleans Academy, Tulane University, and Tulane Medical School, completed his internship and residency at LSU and served in the U.S. Navy, Medical Corps, before returning to his na-tive New Orleans and entering private practice.
Ken eventually became a fixture at Southern Baptist Hospital where he was frequently seen over the years visiting his patients' rooms well into the night after working all day at his clinic across the street from the hos-pital. He was known to fall asleep on a chair in his patient's room after just saying the Rosary together on the beads he always kept in his pocket.
Ken was also devoted to and fiercely protective of his mother, Isabel Capdevielle McLeod, a successful realtor, with whom he lived until her death in November 1993, within weeks of Jean and Ken's wedding. Ken's father, Kenneth McLeod, Sr., died in 1989.
Ken had another great love, too: Mardi Gras pageantry. A long-time masker in several Carnival organizations and a captain in one, Ken, with Jean on his arm, attended multiple Mardi Gras balls every year where he often served as a committeeman of the court. A friend used to call Ken "Dr. Mardi Gras."
Ken was a great-great grandson of legendary architect James Gallier, a member of the American College of Physicians and The American Board of Pediatrics, a member of The Pickwick Club, the Bienville Club, and the Southern Yacht Club. Additionally, he remained an active mem-ber of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, having previously served a number of years as chancellor.
Ken is survived by Jean's nephews, Chase Chassaignac, Henry Chas-saignac and her niece, Jeanne Chassaignac Neusetzer.
His funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Francis Xavier Church on Fri-day June 12 at 1:30pm. followed by a private burial.
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