Katrina's Lives Lost:	Gladys Marie Dupor 1954-2005
Submitted By: 		N.O.V.A January 2006
Source:			Times Picayune 01-29-2006

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Gladys Marie Dupor called everybody "Boo," as in, "How you doing,
Boo?" and "Thank you, Boo."

Gladys was fun to be around. She loved hats and clothes and fine
cars and dressing up. At 51 she was still a girlie-girl, with a 13-
year-old son she just adored.

"She loved to have a good time," said her oldest sister, Shirley D.
Carriere. Gladys was the fourth of six girls, and she had three
brothers. "She was fun. Always ambitious."

And definitely Creole.

When she would get excited, "she would talk that French," Shirley
said.

Shirley's daughter and Gladys' niece, Schwan Carriere, said her
aunt was Miss Freshman 1975 at SUNO.

"She never was a person who liked to stay inside. She enjoyed
college life," Schwan said. "She enjoyed reading and meeting
people."

As the oldest niece, Schwan was close to her aunt growing up. They
went shopping together often at the Lake Forest Plaza.

A graduate of Walter L. Cohen High School, Gladys was working as a
substitute teacher and had also worked at New Orleans City Hall.

Gladys "was my role model," said her sister Angela Moses of San
Antonio. "She had a hand in bringing me to Christ. She would take
me to church with her.

"And she was instrumental in getting me to go to college, because
she went to school."

The best way to describe her sister was "lively," Moses said.

"She just lived and didn't let too much worry her. Whatever Gladys
wanted, she got. Whether you liked it or not! And it was legit.

"We couldn't be mad with her. We could learn a lot from her. She
did not deny herself anything. She was very determined. I guess
that was what I admired about her."

Gladys "was a joy to be around. She spoke her mind and loved the
Lord and loved life."

After the hurricane and before the flooding, another sister was the
last one to speak to Gladys, who lived in Gentilly. The family
thought she was with her boyfriend, who takes care of his invalid
aunt in his home.

"He said he was trying to get his aunt together," Shirley said. "He
lives in the east, which is why they ended up in the Superdome."

But Gladys most certainly did not want to go to the Superdome.

"That's what he told us, and she was very outspoken," Shirley said.
"She argued with him that she didn't want to go."

When Shirley spoke to her sister on Monday, Gladys was at home. She
said she was OK and had gotten a good night's sleep. That was the
last time anyone had contact with her.

"Like a lot of other people, she didn't want to leave. She thought
it was going to be fine," Shirley said.

Gladys couldn't swim. She stayed in her house, which is where she
was found. She had her ID on her, so her family believes she was
trying to get out. Her body was identified at the morgue in St.
Gabriel in November. Her son is with his father and spending time
with his aunts.

At her service, her niece Schwan said, "We dedicated a poem to her,
and the last line was, 'Save a dance for us, Boo.' "