Sister Mary Lester deBlanc died the early morning of March 12, 2017 at St. Mary of the Pines in Chatawa, Mississippi. Marie Louise deBlanc was the younger of two daughters born to Alma (Fuhr) and Lester P. deBlanc. She was born and grew up in New Orleans, in the Redemptorist Parish. She and her older sister, Jeanne, were taught from the first through the twelfth grade there by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. On graduating from high school, Marie Louise entered the School Sisters of Notre Dame in St. Louis. There she prepared spiritually and professionally to become a religious and a teacher. She was received into the congregation and given the name, Mary Lester. On professing her vows, her early teaching ministry was in Missouri and California and in Marrero, La. During most of her half-century of classroom teaching, Sister Lester taught the language arts to the junior high school youth at Our Lady of Prompt Succor School in Chalmette, Louisiana. During five years she also served as principal there. From her retirement from the classroom in 2000 until Hurricane Katrina, Sister Lester continued working with Chalmette youth as receptionist for Archbishop Hannan High School. On returning to Chalmette after Katrina, Sister Lester was invited to bring her organizational skills and her humor to lead a program for the Council on Aging. She continued in this ministry until she retired to St. Mary of the Pines in 2013. Sister Lester was an active member of the community until a sudden illness severely limited her physical activity. Sister Lester was preceded in death by her parents and her sister. Rev. Rodney Bourg of the Archdiocese of New Orleans was the celebrant at a eucharistic celebration on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 with Rev. Suresh Thirmalareddy, pastor of St. Teresa Parish, as the con-celebrant. Pallbearers were from the Charles R. Brill Council of the Knights of Columbus. She was laid to rest in Chatawa Cemetery.
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