SLS 24RS-786 ORIGINAL
2024 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 15
BY SENATOR DUPLESSIS
CONDOLENCES. Expresses sincere and heartfelt condolences upon the passing of Carol
Gelderman.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To express the sincere and heartfelt condolences of the Senate of the Legislature of
3 Louisiana upon the passing of Carol Gelderman.
4 WHEREAS, it is with solemn regret and profound sorrow that the Senate has learned
5 of the passing of Carol Gelderman on March 8, 2024, at the age of eighty-nine; and
6 WHEREAS, Carol Wettlaufer was born on December 2, 1936, in Grosse Pointe,
7 Michigan, to Albert and Irene Wettlaufer; and
8 WHEREAS, in 1956, Carol earned an undergraduate degree at Manhattanville
9 College in Purchase, New York, and in 1959, she married Gregory Anthony "Jay"
10 Gelderman Jr. and had three children in four years; and
11 WHEREAS, after moving to Chicago, Illinois, she decided to return to college,
12 selecting nearby Northwestern University, and earned masters and doctoral degrees; and
13 WHEREAS, in 1972, a year after her divorce, the recent doctoral graduate and single
14 mother of three children accepted a job at the university then known as LSU in New Orleans
15 to teach modern drama; and
16 WHEREAS, Carol Gelderman's thirty-three-year career at the University of New
17 Orleans was capped when she was named Distinguished Professor of English; and
18 WHEREAS, during her academic career, Carol Gelderman authored eight books,
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SLS 24RS-786 ORIGINAL
1 including three biographies: Henry Ford, the Wayward Capitalist; Mary McCarthy, A Life;
2 and Louis Auchincloss, A Writer's Life; and her strong interest in politics and government
3 was reflected in her book All The Presidents' Words: The Bully Pulpit and the Creation of
4 the Virtual Presidency; she also wrote dozens of articles on topics as varied as theater,
5 biography, politics, and mutual funds; and
6 WHEREAS, Carol Gelderman lived in the French Quarter before moving to the
7 Uptown area of New Orleans and she served several terms on the Vieux Carré Property
8 Owners, Residents and Associates board and she was always eager to preserve the character
9 of New Orleans' oldest neighborhood; and
10 WHEREAS, prior to her life in New Orleans, Carol was employed at the American
11 Embassy in London and at television stations in the cities of Detroit and Chicago; and
12 WHEREAS, Carol was a member of the National Arts Club in New York City and
13 was among the first women admitted to membership in the previously all-male Cosmos Club
14 in Washington, D.C.
15 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
16 does hereby express sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Carol
17 Gelderman on the occasion of her passing.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
19 family of Carol Gelderman.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Dawn Romero Watson.
DIGEST
SR 15 Original 2024 Regular Session Duplessis
Expresses condolences upon the passing of Carol Gelderman.
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