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