Gayle Batt, civic activist and mother of actor Bryan Batt, dies at 79
December 21, 2010 Times Picayune
Submitted by N.O.V.A.


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Gayle Batt, a civic volunteer who was also the mother of an actor and a former New Orleans City Council
member, died Tuesday of cancer at her New Orleans home. She was 79.

A dance major at Newcomb College, Mrs. Batt had appeared in local theatrical productions and served on a
long list of boards. Earlier this year, she achieved a measure of fame as the subject of the book, "She
Ain't Heavy, She's My Mother," which her son, the actor Bryan Batt, wrote.

"I knew I had a magical mother, and I wanted to share that with everyone," he said Tuesday. "She was so
gracious and so lovely but had such a great sense of humor, and she didn't know it."

Her other son, Jay Batt, represented District A on the City Council from 2002 to 2006.

Mrs. Batt had fought cancer since 1978, beating it back three times before a recurrence in 2008, her son
said.

Despite the struggle, she never let the strain show, Batt said. "She always had a smile and was always done
to the nines."

"She was a very strong, ladylike, genteel woman," said Cassie Steck Worley, president of the Board of
Governors of Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, where Mrs. Batt had been a board member.

A lifelong New Orleanian, Mrs. Batt was heavily involved in volunteer work after graduating from Newcomb
with honors.

Among the organizations with which she was involved were Cancer Crusaders, the New Orleans Museum of Art,
the Institute for Human Understanding, the Friends of City Park, the Salvation Army, WRBH Radio for the
Blind, St. Elizabeth's Guild, Lake Vista Garden Club, Longue Vue House and Gardens, and the Louisiana
chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

"Community service was her thing," Bryan Batt said.

She took to the stage in local productions of the musicals "70, Girls, 70," in which she tap-danced, and
"Follies."

But perhaps Mrs. Batt's best performance came in her final struggle with cancer, her son said. "She showed
us how to go with grace and dignity."

Her husband, John Batt, a member of the family that operated Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park, died in
1985.

In addition to her sons, survivors include two grandchildren.

A funeral will be held Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church, 3900 St. Charles
Ave. Visitation will start Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Burial will be private.

Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.