Irene Armentor Earnest's Obituary
Irene Armentor Earnest died December 19, 2005, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She broke her leg and hip on September 18, 2005, and she was evacuated from Mandeville to Pennsylvania on September 28, 2005, to be with her oldest daughter and to receive the nursing care that was so scarce in Mandeville after Hurricane Katrina.
Born to Fenelon Armentor and Aglia Boudreaux in 1917 in New Iberia, Mrs. Earnest was the youngest of five children. She moved to New Orleans in 1946 and to Mandeville in 1988. While attending Southwestern Louisiana Institute (The University of Louisiana at Lafayette) she met her beloved late husband, Morgan Gerald Earnest, married him in 1939 and graduated from SLI that same year. In 1937 she was elected SLI’s Camellia Queen, the first freshman ever chosen for the coveted position. Earl Long, then Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, served as Mrs. Earnest’s escort as Camellia Queen. While at SLI she served as President of her sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma, and was Student Body Treasurer. She taught in Orleans Parish Schools for three years until 1953 at which time she became Vice President of Earnest Homes and Earnest Construction, residential construction and land development businesses founded by Mrs. Earnest and her late husband. Through these companies the Earnests built over 2000 homes in the greater New Orleans area. Earnest Construction also built a 72-unit apartment complex called Coliseum Place in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans. In the early 1970s the Earnests joined forces with Lester and Gloria Kabacoff to develop Beau Chene, a 1200-acre golf course community on the Northshore of New Orleans that now has approximately 5000 residents. Mrs. Earnest took a very active role in the Women’s Auxiliary of the National Association of Home Builders, holding many officer positions at national, state and local levels. Mrs. Earnest was also a licensed Louisiana real estate agent during most of her real estate career.
Mrs. Earnest is survived by her three children, Barbara Earnest O’Brien, Margie Earnest Inman, and Morgan Gerald Earnest II, and by their spouses, Charles P. O’Brien M.D., Christopher C. Inman and Elizabeth Salvatore Earnest. She is also survived by her sister, Elida Armentor Leblanc, and her brother, Minos Armentor, 13 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend a visitation on Wednesday, December 28, 2005, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at E.J. Fielding Funeral Home at 2260 21st Avenue, Covington, LA 70433. Another visitation will be held from 10:00 to 11:00 AM on Thursday, December 29, 2005, at Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church located at 1501 W. Causeway Approach, Mandeville, LA 70471. A funeral mass will follow at 11am. Interment will be at Pinecrest Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers donations are preferred to Irene Earnest’s favorite charities: Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 1501 W. Causeway Approach, Mandeville, LA 70471; or Covenant House, 611 North Rampart, New Orleans, LA 70112; or Boy’s Hope/Girl’s Hope, 4128 Baudin St., New Orleans, LA 70119.
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