Elizabeth Spink Karmazin

Elizabeth Spink Karmazin, who was recently honored as one of the First 100 Women Lawyers of New Orleans, and worked for the presiding judge of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal for 26 years died at Levine & Dickson Hospice House in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was 93. She passed away on New Year’s Day, 6 days shy of her 94th birthday.

Elizabeth was born in Philadelphia, PA, the only child of Jesse Francke Spink and Isabella Edmond Robertson. She met her future husband, Michael Laurence Karmazin, as students at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education from The Ohio University in 1942 and married the one and only love of her life on January 2nd, 1943.

In 1954, with their only daughter, Phyllis, she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana and immediately fell in love with the city.

She graduated in 1960 from Tulane University Law School with a Bachelor of Laws degree and was awarded her Juris Doctor in 1969.

Elizabeth ran for the judge of the Court of Appeal in 1972 in a field of 8, where she was the only woman.

She was a member for 55 years of the Louisiana Bar Association, a member of the Lakeview Baptist Church and a Friend of the Cabildo. Books were her passion, and she was an avid collector.

When Katrina hit the city she moved to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her beloved husband.

She is survived by her daughter Phyllis Karmazin O’Connor and her husband Christopher O’Connor of Charlotte, NC, her granddaughter Phyllis Elizabeth Piper Smith and her husband William Hill Smith IV of Charlotte, NC, her grandson Capt. Michael Christopher O’Connor and his wife Maria de Soria Santacruz Pich of Valencia, CA, her granddaughter Jessica Lauren O’Connor of Baton Rouge, LA, three great-grandsons William Hill Smith V, Phillip George Smith and Michael DuBose Smith of Charlotte, NC, her son Michael L. Karmazin Jr. of Houston, TX, her son Jay Jesse Karmazin and his wife Phyllis Ferrara Karmazin of Columbus, OH, her grandson Jesse Alexander Karmazin of Dallas, TX, her son Allan Edmond Karmazin of New Orleans, LA, her granddaughter Marie Elizabeth Karmazin of Mandeville, LA and her grandson Allan Michael Karmazin of New Orleans.

The service to honor her life will be held at 2 o’clock on Saturday, January 9, 2015 in the chapel of Harry & Bryant, 500 Providence Rd., Charlotte. The family will receive friends from 1-1:45 pm prior to the service. A graveside service will be held at Biloxi National Cemetery in Biloxi, MS at 1:30 pm on Monday, January 11th.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Levine & Dickson Hospice House, 8919 Park Road, Charlotte, NC 28210, or to St. Mark Catholic Church Shawl Ministry, 14740 Stumptown Road, Huntersville, NC 28078.