Mary Lou Schultis Widmer

Mary Lou Schultis Widmer, native and lifelong resident of New Orleans, died Thursday, March 11, 2021. She was 94. Mrs. Widmer was the beloved wife of Albert F. Widmer, Sr. for 70 years and she was a mother, grandmother, and a great-grandmother, an author, teacher, and historian. She was a past president of Romance Writers of America/South Louisiana Chapter; secretary of the U.S. Daughters of 1812, and member of Louisiana Colonials, Preservation Resource Center, and Friends of the Cabildo.

Mrs. Widmer was a graduate of St. Anthony of Padua School, Holy Angels Academy, and a cum laude graduate of Loyola University of the South. She taught in the private and public schools of New Orleans and the Metro Colleges of UNO and Delgado. Her published novels include Night Jasmine, Lace Curtain, and The View from Rampart Street. Her non-fiction work includes Beautiful Crescent, A History of New Orleans; Louisiana, the First 300 Years; and New Orleans 1900-1920, New Orleans in the 1920s; 30s; 40s; 50s; and 60s.

Mrs. Widmer was the daughter of the late Earl F. Schultis and Alma Pigeon Schultis. She is survived by a son, Albert F. Widmer, Jr. (Carla G.); a daughter, Dana W. Duggan (Johnny); her sister, Terry S. Sita; four grandchildren: Crista Chesnut, Jamie Durbin, Kyle Cash, and Grant Widmer; and six great-grandchildren: Cameron Chesnut, Madelyn Chesnut, Burke Durbin, Sloane Durbin, Elise Cash and Tess Cash.

A funeral Mass will be said Saturday, March 20, 2021 at 11:00a.m. at St. Pius X Church, 6666 Spanish Fort Blvd., New Orleans, preceded by visitation from 9:00 a.m. to 11 a.m. Burial will be private.