Biography of Albert J. Cambre, Sr.; Jefferson Parish, Louisiana              

Submitted By N.O.V.A., July 12, 2005 19:48




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Office Supply Businessman Albert J. Cambre Sr. Dies



Albert Joseph "A.J." Cambre Sr., president and owner of A.J. Cambre Co. 

Inc., died Friday of heart failure at West Jefferson Medical Center.

He was 68.  Mr. Cambre was born in Gretna and lived in Westwego for the 

past 40 years.



Mr. Cambre opened his office products business on Huey P. Long Avenue in 

Gretna in 1954, and it soon became the main source of office supplies for 

West Bank businesses. Before that, he had worked with his father for years 

at E.J. Cambre & Son in Gretna, a business that billed itself as a source of 

"dresses, blouses, umbrellas, electric irons, slips, skirts, sport shirts, 

sheets, linoleums and Admiral radios."



In a 1995 interview, Mr. Cambre explained how his office-products business 

managed to survive in the face of competition from larger chains.



Personal service is the key, Mr. Cambre said. "We carry little, hard-to-find 

items that the big stores don't. We have knowledge that's not in the 

computers."



Mr. Cambre was a big fan of Carnival. One of his daughters once described 

him as "a kid at heart, especially when it comes to Mardi Gras. He loves 

those parades."



He has served as king of Poseidon, the Westwego-based Carnival organization, 

and of Grela, the Gretna organization.



He was a fourth-degree knight at the Archbishop Blenk Knights of Columbus 

Chapter 1905, a member of the Gretna Sportsman's Club, Westbank Rotary Club, 

Westbank Kiwanis Club, Westbank Chamber of Commerce, The United Way, Gretna 

Business Association and the Westbank Petroleum Club.



Mr. Cambre was a volunteer with the Davey Crockett Fire Department and an 

Army veteran.



Survivors include his wife, Leona "Sue" Brunet Cambre; three sons, Mark, 

Paul and A.J. Cambre Jr.; six daughters, Gail Cambre Panepinto, Deborah 

Cambre Perque, Donna Cambre Theard and Sandra, Catherine and Mary Cambre; a 

brother, Lester Rollings Cambre; a sister, Suzanne Bernice Cambre; 11 

grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.



A Mass will be said Monday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 610 

Sixth Street, Gretna. Visitation will be today from 6 to 11 p.m. and Monday 

from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Mothe Funeral Home, 2100 West Bank Expressway, 

Harvey. Burial will be in West Lawn Cemetery. 





Source:  Times Picayune 09-21-1997