Lawrence Joseph Duplantis, Jr.

Lawrence Joseph Duplantis, Jr. was the son of Rosalie Frey and Lawrence Duplantis, Sr. He was born in 1934, and grew up on Lizardi Street in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. The “shotgun” house had two bedrooms for the family of six. There were chickens in the yard that Larry preferred to befriend rather than eat, but sometimes he had to do both—and indeed, when he described an individual as a “tough old bird,” he seemed to know what he was talking about. The non-air conditioned, open-windowed house on Lizardi Street probably prepared Larry for a life of not holding back, no matter who was listening.

Larry attended Holy Cross High School, where he loved all the brothers and all the learning. He sang in the choir of a church he loved, St. Maurice and there met his wife-to-be, Kathleen Ryan. In the 1950’s Larry joined the US Air Force, serving as a code-breaker in Germany for three years. He upheld his oath of sworn silence on the intelligence he gathered until the day he died. We tried. It was in Germany that Larry indulged his love of culture, music, and beautiful churches. He and Kathleen wrote to each other every single day and when he returned home, they were married. (The short version.)

Over the short period of his final illness, we have been asked to fill out many forms asking what Larry “did.” Although he enjoyed working for Kaiser Aluminum and The Primary School, he was never defined by work. What he really valued were the life-long friendships he made and the loving family he created.

Larry built a most beautiful life with Kathleen throughout their 48, happy, bustling years of marriage. They had three children, Jeanne, Suzanne, and Lawrence, and raised them on 4810 Redwood Street. He brought all three, and his wife, coffee in bed every morning, and would never let anyone go to bed angry.

Redwood Street was filled with love, laughter…and arguments. There were flower gardens, kitchen gardens, Friday night oyster parties, Saturday morning fishing trips, and scrumptious Sunday dinners. Wine flowed and games were enjoyed–cards, chess, and Trivial Pursuit. There were yearly Florida vacations that all ran together. There were epic Christmas trees. There was opera almost always on the stereo—making room only occasionally for seasonal favorites, or Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, or The Kingston Trio, or Harry Belafonte, if Kathleen won over. There was his yearly favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, with its three days in the prepping, and three days in the recovering. There was hospitality to one and all on Redwood Street. It was one happy house, indeed.

Larry was a singer. He thoroughly enjoyed being a member of the New Orleans Opera Chorus and was known for his beautiful, sweet tenor voice which blessed many a wedding, a funeral, and a family party throughout his singing life. It’s easy to remember the perfect hush that fell over even the most raucous gathering when he began to sing. He was an amazing cook and a master gardener. He collected way too many things and when he found something he liked, he would be known to buy it over and over again.

Larry never met a child he didn’t love. He loved his nieces and nephews like they were his own children and cherished his close relationships with so many of them. But it must be said that he came into his true vocation in life when he became a grandfather. He was beloved Papa to (in order) Alex, Nicholas, Ryan, Max, Corinne, Mei, Lily, and Fei-Fei. He adored each one. He talked to them all as much as he could. He prayed fervently for every single one of them, every single day. He was a confidant to so many, and the best kind of friend—truthful, moral, loving, and indulgent, and he was the best listener, probably, that any of us have ever known.

Larry died peacefully, surrounded by his family on July 1, 2021. We are bereft to lose him, but we know that he is now free from pain and united with all his loved ones on the other side, in the presence of God. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Kathleen Ryan Duplantis; by his brother Harold Duplantis, and his mother and father, Rosalie Frey and Lawrence Duplantis, Sr. His loss is grieved by his three children and their spouses: Jeanne and Marc Miranne, Suzanne Duplantis and Kevin McDowell, and Lawrence and Dana Duplantis; by his sister Rosalie McClure, and his brother Joseph Duplantis; his grandchildren and their spouses whom he also adored: Alex and Alexis, Nicco, Ryan and Crystal, Max, Corinne and Spencer, Mei, Lily and Fei, and a host of loving nieces, nephews, beloved friends and honorary grandchildren, and his newest great-grandchild, Adelaide, who he was able to tenderly hold and talk to only a month ago.

A funeral mass in Larry’s honor will take place on Friday, July 9, 2021 at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church at 3368 Esplanade Ave. New Orleans, LA 70119. Visitation begins at 12 noon, Words of Remembrance at 1:15, and Mass will follow at 1:30.