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Delores Vanison, 54, lawyer, civic activist
March 28, 2002
Delores Burrell Vanison, a lawyer and community activist who held several positions in New Orleans government, died Sunday of cancer at Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital. She was 54.
Mrs. Vanison was a lifelong resident of New Orleans. She was a 1973 graduate of Southern University at New Orleans and earned a law degree from Southern University's Baton Rouge School of Law.
In addition to her private practice, she was the attorney for the New Orleans Office of the Register of Conveyance, was a former assistant city attorney, was with the Department of Streets, was a judicial clerk for Civil District Court Division I, was assistant director of the Legal Division of the American Foundation for Negro Affairs and was an attorney for Bayou Lafourche Legal Services.
She was a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Louis Martinet Society and the Louisiana Notary Association. She also was a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, a board member of the Modern Organization to Develop Equality, a founder and former board member of the 4th Ward Improvement Agency, a member of the Independent Women Organization, a former board member of the Dryades Street YMCA and a former board member of Senior and Junior Services.
In 1972, Mrs. Vanison became the first black woman to seek statewide office when she ran for commissioner of elections. She was campaign manager for Bernette Joshua Johnson and Arthur Morrell, who were elected judge of Civil District Court Division I and state representative, respectively. She was a volunteer tutor for the For Our Children After School Program and was an adjunct instructor with SUNO.
She was a member of Greater Tulane Baptist Church where she was a coordinator for the Youth Department, a member of the Missionary Board, a former choir member, director of the Greater Tulane Baptist Church Drill Team and coordinator of the Senior Citizens Luncheon, the Adopt-a-School program and the graduate fellowship program.
Survivors include her husband, John H. Vanison; two sons, John H. Vanison Jr. and Jeremy Vanison; two daughters, Michele V. Cressy and Andreana V. Davis; her father, Robert Burrell; her mother, Canzata Bridges Burrell; a brother, Donald Burrell; four sisters, Connie Holliday, Daisy Scott, Charlotte Campbell and Brenda Burrell; and five grandchildren.
A funeral will be held Friday at 8 p.m. at Greater Tulane Baptist Church, 214 N. Johnson St. Visitation will begin at 6 p.m. Dismissal will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at the church. Burial will be in Providence Memorial Park. Majestic Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
STEPHENS, GEORGE ‘TEX' JR.
February 27, 2002
George Stephens Jr., black radio pioneer
George "Tex" Stephens Jr., whose silken voice helped make him one of the first widely recognized black broadcasters in New Orleans, died Saturday of cancer at Metropolitan Hospice. He was 80.
A lifelong New Orleans area resident who also worked in print journalism, Mr. Stephens first became interested in going on the air in the late 1940s.
The tall, well-dressed World War II veteran especially admired a white announcer he heard regularly on WJDW, and he wrote the man a fan letter. In response, the flattered disc jockey invited Mr. Stephens to the studio.
"I told him I'd like to be a disc jockey, too, " Mr. Stephens said. "The people who owned the station were very nice, but they said I'd have to do a remote broadcast. They wouldn't allow my black face in the station, to sit down next to the whites."
So in 1948, broadcasting once a week from Roger's Gladstone Hotel on Dryades Street, he became Tex "Mr. Cool" Stephens, spinning records by such black and white entertainers as Duke Ellington, Nat "King" Cole and Woody Herman.
A career was born. A year later, "Tipping With Tex" debuted on WMRY, a station that became the powerhouse WYLD and Mr. Stephens' radio home until 1963. In addition to playing music, he did public-affairs programming, including reports on the civil-rights movement. In 1963, Mr. Stephens moved to TV, broadcasting high school sports with Mel Leavitt.
He also was a writer for Louisiana Weekly and a frequent master of ceremonies at all sorts of gatherings, from political rallies to the Gospel Tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
"He was omnipresent, " Jazzfest producer/director Quint Davis said. "Wherever you went, there was Tex."
Perhaps the best-known entertainer Mr. Stephens introduced was Louis Armstrong, whom he had met in 1935, when he was hired as an extra for a movie Armstrong was shooting. Fourteen years later, Mr. Stephens was Armstrong's chauffeur and escort when the trumpeter reigned as King Zulu. Mr. Stephens also was master of ceremonies at the ball. The two kept in touch for the remaining 22 years of Armstrong's life.
A native of Gretna, Mr. Stephens acquired his nickname as a teen-ager when he sold made-to-order suits at Best Tailors on Rampart Street.
"I had relatives in Texas, and I used to go visit them, " he said in a 1998 interview. "I used to come back with cowboy hats, and the guys would say, ‘Here's the old Texan coming back, ' and the name just stuck."
The cowboy hat became his lifelong sartorial trademark, said his wife, Marion Stephens.
Mr. Stephens graduated from McDonogh No. 35 High School and earned degrees from Loyola University and Washington General College of Administration in Washington, D.C.
During World War II, he was attached to the Army's 92nd Division, better known as the Buffalo Soldiers. In his later years, he pushed for recognition of African-American soldiers' work in that conflict.
After the war, Mr. Stephens wrote for the New Orleans edition of The Informer Sentinel, a Houston black newspaper. He also wrote for Ebony magazine, and he was an aide to Mayor Dutch Morial, Mrs. Stephens said.
He boosted musicians' careers by mentioning them in his column and putting in a good word for them, Davis said. "He felt everything needed his help. He was steadfast in promoting and pushing everything for everybody. He loved New Orleans and anything that was good for New Orleans."
Mr. Stephens was a member of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club and Regular Baptist Church. In 1998, he was inducted into the Greater New Orleans Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
In addition to his wife, survivors include a son, George "Gimpy" Stephens III; a daughter, Gay Stephens Atai of Dallas; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at Regular Baptist Church, 901 Fifth St., Gretna.
Professional Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
SMITH, SANDRAS YATES
March 7, 2002
Sandras Yates Smith, an electronics technician, died Sunday of complications from heart surgery at Pendleton Memorial Medical Center. She was 56. Ms. Smith was born in Portland, Ore., and lived in New Orleans for the past 54 years. She was a graduate of George Washington Carver Senior High School. She had worked for BellSouth and was a member of Communications Workers of America Local Union No. 3410. Survivors include her companion, Cornel Butler; two sons, Frederick Smith Jr. and Patrick E. Smith Sr.; two daughters, Pamela Smith Woods and Tamica Gloria Smith; two brothers, Motel Yates and Charles Yates; three sisters, Betty Butler, Mary Shell and Lori Smith; and 17 grandchildren. A funeral will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at D.W. Rhodes Funeral Home, 3933 Washington Ave. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Providence Memorial Park.
PREVOST, JOSEPH A. JR.
March 7, 2002
Joseph A. Prevost Jr., an employee with Andrews Federal Credit Union and a retired employee of Traveler's Insurance, died Sunday of a heart attack at Howard County General Hospital in Columbia, Md. He was 62. Mr. Prevost was born in New Orleans and lived in Lanham, Md., for many years. He graduated from Walter L. Cohen High School. Survivors include his wife, Connie Davis-Prevost; two sons, Barry and Joseph Prevost; a brother, Barry James Prevost; and a sister, Marie E. Prevost. A Mass will be said Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Landover Hills, Md. Visitation will be today from 6 to 8 p.m. at J.B. Jenkins Funeral Home in Landover Hills. Burial will be in Maryland Veterans cemetery in Cheltenham.
PREVOST, JOSEPH A. JR.
March 7, 2002
Joseph A. Prevost Jr., an employee with Andrews Federal Credit Union and a retired employee of Traveler's Insurance, died Sunday of a heart attack at Howard County General Hospital in Columbia, Md. He was 62. Mr. Prevost was born in New Orleans and lived in Lanham, Md., for many years. He graduated from Walter L. Cohen High School. Survivors include his wife, Connie Davis-Prevost; two sons, Barry and Joseph Prevost; a brother, Barry James Prevost; and a sister, Marie E. Prevost. A Mass will be said Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Landover Hills, Md. Visitation will be today from 6 to 8 p.m. at J.B. Jenkins Funeral Home in Landover Hills. Burial will be in Maryland Veterans cemetery in Cheltenham.
McSHERRY, ALLEN ORAN
March 7, 2002
Allen Oran McSherry, a retired field engineer at Schlumberger, died Feb. 28 at his home. He was 85.
Mr. McSherry was born in Midland and lived in New Orleans for the past 47 years.
He was an Army veteran of World War II.
He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and an air medal.
Survivors include three sons, Robert William Brenner and Stephen and Stewart McSherry; three daughters, Penelope Brenner, Susan McSherry and Sandra McSherry Waguespack; a brother, Wilbur McSherry; two sisters, Lucile Davis and Blanche Erbe; and eight grandchildren.
A funeral will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at Mothe Funeral Home, 2100 West Bank Expressway, Harvey.
Burial will be private.
WILSON, PERCY
March 6, 2002
Percy Wilson, a retired employee of Big Shot R C Beverage Co. and Select Beverage Co., died Friday of undetermined causes at his home.
He was 65.
Mr. Wilson was a lifelong resident of New Orleans.
He was a member of Israel Baptist Church No. 3 and Usher Board No. 1.
Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth Ann Myers Wilson; three sons, Curtis, Mark Anthony and John Davis Myers; two daughters, Joyce Ann Myers and Lois Ann Brown; his mother, Lucinda W. Coco; his stepmother, Laura Wilson; two sisters, Marsha Wilson of Denver and Rhonda Wilson; and 10 grandchildren.
A funeral will be held Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at Majestic Mortuary, 1833 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Burial will be private.
WILLIAMS, ISAAC ‘IKE' MEALEY SR.
March 6, 2002
Isaac ‘Ike' Mealey Williams Sr., a retired gardener and chauffeur, died Saturday of cancer at Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
He was 73. Mr. Williams was born in Centerville, Miss., and lived in Avondale for the past 31 years.
He was an Army veteran.
He was a member of Mount Herman Baptist Church and had served on its Usher Board.
Survivors include his wife, Pearl Smallwood Williams; two sons, Leonard Williams of Marrero and Isaac Williams Jr.; a daughter, Linda Bailey; and eight grandchildren.
A funeral will be held Thursday at 10 a.m. at Mount Herman Baptist Church, 321 George St., Avondale.
Visitation will begin at 8 a.m.
Burial will be in Resthaven Memorial Park.
Gertrude Geddes Willis Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
SUMMERS, PAULETTE
March 6, 2002
Paulette Summers, an employee of Task Force, died Feb. 27 of cancer at her home.
She was 36.
Miss Summers was a lifelong resident of New Orleans.
She attended Carter G. Woodson Junior High School.
She was a former employee of Volunteers of America.
Survivors include a son, Tyrone Summers; two daughters, Wanisha and LaShonda Wells; four brothers, Larry Frith, Gerald Scott, David and Roger Wells; four sisters, Maxine, Sherri and Kim Wells and Alberta Summers; and two grandchildren.
A funeral will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at Majestic Mortuary, 1833 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Resthaven Memorial Park.
