Claudette C. Toups

Claudette passed away peacefully after battling colorectal cancer for several years. She chose not to have it treated and lived her life without hospitals, therapies and medications. She was born in Patterson, LA and was a long time resident of New Orleans and Metairie, LA.

She was a devoted Catholic and she walked to church until 88 years old when she was no longer able to do so. She never learned to drive and chose to walk everywhere she went.

Claudette was very loved by family and was very caring, loving and giving of her time. For several generations, she was a dedicated babysitter for her younger siblings, nieces and nephews.

In her earlier years, she was a student at Sacred Heart of Jesus in New Orleans. She started her secretarial career with Catholic Charities at the age of 18 and continued her career with Continental Insurance Company. She could type over 100 words a minute. She learned at a young age how to play the piano and to read music. With the encouragement of her teacher, she joined the school band where she played the baritone, playing at school functions and in Mardi Gras parades. Her favorite foods were a Burger King Whopper and mashed potatoes. She liked watching old classic movies and westerns. She loved ball room dance, the Waltz being her favorite, and was a member of the Arthur Murray American Ballroom Dance Studio. She also had a love of traveling to visit World Fairs throughout the United States. Eating beignets and riding the carousel horses in City Park was her special treat.

She would often state that she missed her large family sitting down together at dinners and the she missed her mother's good food, especially her homemade beans and rice.

Claudette is the daughter of the late Alfred Earl Toups, Sr. and Odette Gladys Marie Thibodeaux Toups, sister of the late Jacqueline Marie Toups, Betty Anne Toups Hooter (Joseph Hooter), Alfred Earl Toups, Jr., Edith Claire Toups Peri and surviving sibling, Edmund Henry Toups (Janet).

Claudette requested that in lieu of flowers to please donate to Catholic Charities.

A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 3, 2024 at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd., New Orleans, La. 70124. The interment will follow at Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum.