Memorial service planned for Alfred Lemmon, scholar of Louisiana history

Alfred Lemmon’s memorial mass and reception will be held Monday, September 18, at St. Louis Cathedral.

He was an advocate of early Louisiana history and an organist at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. Lemmon died August 26 at Passages Hospice in New Orleans. The 73-year-old died of complications of Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to reports.

At 10 a.m., a memorial mass will be presided over by Father Patrick J. Williams. Lemmon will be eulogized by Daniel Hammer, president and CEO of The Historic New Orleans Collection, followed by a Catholic mass and additional remarks from family and members of the cultural community.

There will be musical selections throughout by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra String Quartet, Givonna Joseph (OperaCreole), and Dr. Michael White, as well as Cathedral musicians Sarah Jane McMahon Briscoe and Jesse Reeks, organist.

The musical prelude will begin approximately 30 minutes prior to the mass. Immediately following the service at the St. Louis Cathedral, attendees are invited to celebrate Lemmon’s life at a reception hosted by The Historic New Orleans Collection at the Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres.

Prior to his death, Lemmon was selected as a CityBusiness Icon Awards honoree. He will be honored posthumously from 4-6 p.m. November 6 at the New Orleans Museum of Art. A publication profiling him and his fellow honorees will be inserted into the November 17 issue of CityBusiness.

i