Lawrence Bres Eustis

Lawrence Bres Eustis, age 97, died October 18, 2018. He is preceded in death by his wife of 70 years, Tatjana (Tat) Hofstra Eustis and his eldest son Lawrence (Lawree) B. Eustis, Jr.; his parents, Ernest Lewis Eustis and Nell Bres; brothers Ernest, Bres, Hallie and Ross; and sisters Christine, Nell and Nancy. He is survived by his sister, Sara Harris of New Orleans; his children Tanya Eustis Williams (Robert, Jr.) of St. Augustine, Florida, Linda Eustis of Baltimore, Maryland, Marcella Eustis Fultz (Larry) of Towson, Maryland, André H. Eustis (Beth), Pierre C. Eustis (Erin) of New Orleans, Patricia Eustis Cantin (Rick) of Gulf Breeze, Florida and his daughter-in-law, Karen Smith Eustis (Lawree) of New Orleans. Larry is also survived by 16 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, 11 great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. His greatest joy was to be surrounded by all of them and being a part of their lives.

Larry spent his early years Uptown and attended Fortier High School and Tulane University where he was a member of ATΩ fraternity.

His college career was interrupted by WWII. He served in the U. S. Army Air Forces, then the U.S. Air Force. He was leader of the Photography Unit of the 40th Bomb Group stationed in India, China and on Tinian where he witnessed the departure of the Enola Gay on the fateful bombing runs to Japan. https://www.40thbombgroup.org/images/Changnon2/hcph.jpg

Larry’s final active duty responsibility was to serve as editor of the Regimental histories, 40th Bombardment Group. https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/127/ He spent many years in the reserves retiring from the U. S. Air Force as a Lt. Colonel.

He had a long career as a petroleum geologist and was a charter member of the New Orleans Geological Society and an emeritus member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

Because of working offshore for so many years, Larry was well aware and deeply concerned about the degradation of the coastal areas, marshes and wetlands as well as native flora. He supported the work of many conservation groups, primarily Woodlands Conservancy, but also Gulf Restoration Network, Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater New Orleans and The Crosby Arboretum.

Larry had a strong interest in history. He was a member and served as president of the Society of the War of 1812 of the State of Louisiana. In his presidential year he portrayed Andrew Jackson at the annual Grand Military Ball commemorating the victory of the Battle of New Orleans. Because of his enthusiasm for the event he grew his hair long and entered the ballroom on horseback. Larry was also a member of the Society of Colonial Wars in Louisiana and The Louisiana Society Sons of the Revolution.

Another illustration of his passion for local history was his long association with the New Orleans Antique Bottle Club. He spent many weekends digging in antique privies and many Thursday nights researching his finds at the New Orleans Public Library. Among his favorites were ink wells and embossed medicine bottles.

He was also active in several other organizations such as the Sportsman's League of New Orleans, Friends of the Cabildo and the Round Table Club. He and his family were initial members of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish.

Larry loved reading, especially the morning paper, walking in the woods, playing Mexican Dominos (train) and enjoying Tulane and Saints games.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a visitation at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. in New Orleans on Saturday, October 27, 2018, from Noon until 2 PM. The service will be at 2 PM. Interment will follow in Metairie Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the charity of your choice or to:

Woodlands Conservancy, PO Box 7028, Belle Chase, LA 70037-7028, Tel 504-433-4000, www.woodlandsconservancy.org

Gulf Restoration Network, PO Box 2245, New Orleans, LA 70176, Tel 504-525-1528, http://www.healthygulf.org

The Crosby Arboretum, PO Box 1639, Picayune, MS 39466-1639, Tel 601-799-2311, http://crosbyarboretum.msstate.edu