Lois Nelson Andrews
Remembering “The Mother of Music” Lois Nelson Andrews, Queen of krewedelusion in 2019.
The Andrews, Nelson and Hill Family invite the public to attend a celebration of life for Lois Andrews on November 19 and 20. Andrews died on November 10 at her home surrounded by her family in New Orleans. She was 69.
In New Orleans’ cultural community, Andrews held a unique position. She was one of the city’s few female grand marshals of jazz funerals and second line parades and was a force behind the revival of the Baby Doll masking tradition.
She co-founded the Lady Money Wasters Social Aid and Pleasure Club in 1975 and the Dumaine Street Gang in the 1990s. In that same decade, she encouraged the formation of the Gold Digger Baby Dolls and other groups in a tradition which had thrived in Carnival celebrations in the early decades of the 20th century but had become nearly defunct before she spurred a renaissance.
Visitation will be held on Friday, November 19, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Chapel of Roses at Charbonnet-Labat Funeral Home, 1615 St. Philip St. The visitation will be followed by a musical tribute. Space is limited for the musical tribute. Please call Charbonnet-Labat Funeral Home at (504) 581-4411 to reserve a spot.
On Saturday, November 20, 2021, visitation will begin at 8 a.m. followed by funeral services at 10 a.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theater of Performing Arts in Armstrong Park, 1419 Basin St. A traditional jazz funeral procession will follow. Interment is at Mount Olivet Cemetery, 4000 Norman Meyer Ave. Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours is required for all public events.
The services will include representatives from the many organizations that Andrews was involved with over the years, including the Money Wasters Social Aid and Pleasure Club, the Dumaine Street Gang Social Aid and Pleasure Club and the Tremé Sidewalk Steppers, as well as musicians from the city’s brass band community, and past and present employees of Place D’Armes and Hampton Inn hotels.