Edgar "Pepper" Bright Jr.

Edgar Allen Gordon Bright Jr., age 89, died peacefully and surrounded by his beloved family, on November 23, 2018, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Edgar, known as Pepper, was raised in New Orleans and graduated from Metairie Park Country Day School in 1946. He then attended Yale University, graduating in 1951. After serving for two years in the US Army during the Korean War, Pepper married Marion Earling from Milwaukee. It was a union blessed with sixty-four years of friendship, love, and four children. Mr. Bright started his career as a stockbroker in New York City, but returned to New Orleans to work at Tullis, Craig, and Bright, and Merrill Lynch, establishing a lifelong interest in the stock market. In 1964, Pepper, his father and father-in-law, purchased Standard Mortgage Corporation. As president and chairman of Standard Mortgage for over forty years, he grew it into one of the largest private commercial/residential mortgage companies in the Southeast. Pepper and Standard played a key role in attracting outside investment money for building some of the most prominent real estate in downtown New Orleans including One Shell Square. His real estate holdings expanded with the purchase of Belle Terre in La Place. He and Manny, along with Poco Sloss, were awarded the franchise for Computerland in New Orleans, and successfully grew the business in twenty cities. Mr. Bright co-founded the Bright Kearney Ellis 5K race, invested in various funds with venture capitalist Ben Rosen, and expanded his reach to Washington D.C., attending the Washington Mardi Gras every year and acting as finance chairman for J. Bennett Johnston in his successful run for the U.S. Senate. Pepper was a member of the N.O.C.C., The Boston Club, The Louisiana Club, The Stratford, Club, The Recess Club, and several Mardi Gras organizations. He was an avid reader with a devotion to learning and education, serving on the Board of Dillard University for two terms, and was Chairman of the Boards of Metairie Park Country Day School and Tulane’s A.B. Freeman School of Business. A master tennis player, Pepper won the Louisiana State Men’s Singles title in 1949, played on the Yale tennis team, and is a lifetime member of the New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club. Snow skiing became another athletic pursuit after purchasing a condo in Aspen in 1969. But perhaps the softest spot in his heart was the regular Saturday volleyball game on Hurst field in Audubon Park. On the creative side, Mr. Bright was a triple threat, acting, writing, and directing movies including “Around the Wohl in 80 Days” and “On the Beach,” all shot on location in Destin and Audubon Street, and starring his friends and family. Pepper was the original Who Dat, who enjoyed all things New Orleans: boiled seafood at Bud’s, oysters at Manales, Dixie beer, riding down St. Charles Avenue, the New Orleans Pelicans, and his beloved, Saints. A southern gentleman in the truest sense of the word, Pepper’s kindness, grace, and wit, pervaded all his endeavors, and warmed all those he touched. His generosity of heart and wisdom helped mentor so many. His divine sense of humor and spirit of fun will live on. Everyone has a Pepper Bright story. But above all else were his unwavering love for, and commitment to, Manny and his family. Pepper is survived by his loving wife, Marion Earling Bright, his children, Edgar Bright III (Ashley), Hollis Bright Kavanagh (Terry), Timothy Peck Bright (Susan), and Elinor Spicer Bright; his nine grandchildren, Ella Bright, Edgar “Gordy” Bright IV, Walker Bright, Fox Kavanagh, Riley Kavanagh, Adele Petagna, Price Petagna, Lizzie Petagna, Pepper Bright, and nephews Terry and Michael White. His mother, Ethel Fox Bright, his father, Edgar A. G. Bright, his sister, Jane Bright White Hickey, and niece Maunsie Hickey, precedes him in death. Special loving thanks to Pepper’s devoted sitters: Jackie Coleman, Jackie Johnsons, Beanie Johnson, Danielle Dibartilo, and the staff of Poydras Home. A funeral mass will be held on Thursday November 28th, 2018 at 12:00 noon at St. Stephen Catholic Church, 1025 Napoleon Avenue, preceded by visitation at the church from 10:30 to 12:00 noon. The service will be followed by a private graveside burial. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the The Bright School for the Deaf, the Tulane A.B Freeman School of Business, or the charity of your choice. Online condolences may be offered at www.lakelawnmetairie.com