Katrina's Lives Lost:	Olga Northon, 1912-2005
Submitted By: 		N.O.V.A November 2005
Source:			Times Picayune 11-07-2005

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In the 1940s, Olga Northon cashed in war bonds and bought a tidy home on
Franklin Avenue in Gentilly. As neighbors came and went over the next half
century, Northon stayed put, relishing New Orleans and its charms.

She worked as a nurse, taught neighborhood children how to play the piano
at no charge and made shrimp étouffée that friends say was good enough to
stop a parade. In her later years, she drove her 1989 Cutlass Sierra to
Mass at St. James Major Catholic Church every day.

At 92, Northon, who never married, lived alone and had no close relatives,
was fiercely independent and an inspiration to those who approach their
golden years with trepidation.

So it came as little surprise when Katrina turned its fury toward the
Louisiana coast that Northon stood her ground. Several neighbors asked her
to evacuate with them, but she refused, noting that she didn't want to
leave her cats alone. And, she said, "I'd have to bring a suitcase full of
pills with me."

After the hurricane passed, several friends, including Leila Haydel of
Mandeville, began looking for Northon, hoping that at the last minute she
had changed her mind about staying home and evacuated to a shelter in Baton
Rouge or elsewhere.

When floodwater receded from the Gentilly area, Haydel was able to contact
a friend who said the spray-painted markings left by rescuers at the
entrance to Northon's home indicated no bodies had been found there.
Somewhat relieved, Haydel continued her fruitless search for Northon, who
had befriended her mother many years ago at St. James Church.

Finally, on Oct. 8, some six weeks after the storm, Haydel and her husband
Marvin went to Northon's home, which had taken in about 4 feet of water.
They saw the painted symbols on the front of the house indicating it had
been checked several times and that no bodies were inside.

They entered and found nasty debris where Northon's furnishings once graced
the home. They found neatly folded clothes atop an antique bed that had
somehow escaped damage. Moving through the home, the Haydels looked for
clues that may have led them to Northon. Instead, they made the worst
possible discovery.

Peering into the parlor, they spotted a body, presumably Northon's, lying
on the floor near her beloved piano, which had been toppled by the
floodwater.

The body was removed respectfully by a team of recovery workers, and a
minister conducted a brief service in the yard of the home where Northon
lived for almost six decades. It was then taken to the morgue at St.
Gabriel where it awaits positive identification. But Haydel and other
friends are certain that the body is that of Northon, who they believe died
at the hands of Katrina, but on her own terms in the home that she loved.
They envision her facing death the way she lived life.

"She was a gracious, kind, dignified lady," Leila Haydel said. "I'd like to
think that as the storm approached, she played the piano for a while then
just went to sleep."