Mary Lois Gaspard (1930 - 2015)

Born 7 Oct 1930 in Abbeville, Vermilion, Louisiana, United States

Ancestors

Biography

Mary Lois Gaspard was born on October 7, 1930, daughter of Joseph Wilton Gaspard (1909– ) and Nita Toups (1908– ).

Mary Lois (23) married Joseph Wilson Sellers (27) (born on March 7, 1927) on June 13, 1954 in Abbeville, Vermilion, Louisiana, United States.^[1]

Mary was mentioned on a memorial in Saint Paul Cemetery, Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States with a death date of 12 December 2015.^[2]

Research Notes

Lois was born in Abbeville, Louisiana, in 1930. She married Joseph Wilson Sellers in 1954, and together they raised their four boys, which she considered her greatest gift and privilege.

During this time, she built a career in nursing and hospital administration, as a pioneer for women in the workforce. She graduated from Charity Hospital School of Nursing in 1951 and began her career as a surgical nurse at the Palms Hospital, which she led from 1953 to 1966.

She was instrumental in the planning of Abbeville General Hospital and served as director of nursing, assistant administrator, and interim administrator during her twenty-year career with the hospital. She was appointed to serve on both the Hospital Planning Advisory Council by Governor Earl K. Long and the State Hospital Advisory Council by Governor Edwin W. Edwards. She retired in 1986, leaving a legacy of excellence in leadership.

In her second career, Lois was deeply devoted to and involved in St. Mary Magdalen Church, where she served as a lector, cemetery manager, president of the Church Council, and the church’s first female trustee. She also traveled the country as a special consultant for a national patient care management company.

For many summers, Lois served as a staff nurse at Camp Abbey and, later in life, became an accomplished painter. For her countless contributions to her community, she was awarded the Key to the City of Abbeville by Mayor Brady Broussard in 1986.

Lois is survived by four loving sons, Joseph Wilson Jr., Richard, Chris, and William; ten grandchildren, Casey, Lois Boulet, Artie Garbarino, Christopher Jr., Brian, Brandon, Matthew, Eric, William Pierce, and Vivienne; one great-grandchild, Rhett Boulet; and five brothers and sisters, Lou Chappell, Janet Walker, Harold Gaspard, Gerald Gaspard, and Johnny Gaspard.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Wilson; parents, Wilton Gaspard and Nita Toups; and brother, Newton Gaspard.

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage: "U.S., Newspapers.com™ Marriage Index, 1800s-current"
   Abbeville Meridional; Publication Date: 17/ Jun/ 1954; Publication Place: Abbeville, Louisiana, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/445782428/?article=7550104f-7fc7-4946-b7fc-a0fdf9b16290&focus=0.5098979,0.046556953,0.74591273,0.51113963&xid=3398
   Ancestry Record 62116 #50608310 (accessed 20 November 2023)
   Lois Gaspard marriage to Wilson Sellers on 13 Jun 1954.
2. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #155983671 (accessed 20 November 2023)
   Memorial page for Mary Lois Gaspard Sellers (7 Oct 1930-12 Dec 2015), citing Saint Paul Cemetery, Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by KLS (contributor 47564246).