NEW ORLEANS — Mary Lou Widmer, an author and novelist whose work included romance, historical fiction, local history and a series of nostalgia books chronicling New Orleans from the 1900s through the 1960s, died March 11. She was 94.
Mrs. Widmer was a former junior high and high school English, journalism and history teacher whose interest in history informed much of her professional writing. In 1980, she published her first book, Night Jasmine,” a period romance set in New Orleans in 1906. It was followed by “Lace Curtain,” a novel about the Irish in New Orleans.
In 1983, Mrs. Widmer teamed with a fellow teacher, Joan B. Garvey, who was also a certified tour guide, to write “Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans.” The book, which was updated in 2012, is still used as a textbook in local schools and in classes for local tour guides. Garvey and Widmer also wrote a history of the state, “Louisiana: The First 300 Years.” Garvey died in 2016.
In the 1990s, Mrs. Widmer launched a series of four books for Pelican Publishing chronicling the city’s more recent history. Her first volume, “New Orleans in the 30s,” was filled with dozens of photos and written in a breezy style that showcased her personal memories of growing up in the city during that time. She said she wrote the book with the idea of leaving a record for her grandchildren about how she grew up.
“I wanted to portray what I call ‘lost New Orleans,’ the buildings that are no longer standing, the green areas that have given way to housing developments and shopping malls, the things people did back then and don’t do anymore,” she told The Times-Picayune in 1993.
The book on the 1930s was followed by similar books on the 1900s, 1920s, 1940s, 50s and 60s. Each combined historical facts and photos of local and national events, trends and changes with Mrs. Widmer’s own personal memories of attending high school, getting married and starting a family in Lakeview.
“For some, reading Mary Lou Widmer's ‘New Orleans in the Fifties’ may be like going through their grandmother's photo album, complete with Grandma's narration. Older readers may see it as a chance to reminisce over the city's last era of innocence,” wrote Liz Scott in a 1991 Times-Picayune review.
In addition to the series, Mrs. Widmer also wrote other novels, including “The View from Rampart Street” and “Margaret: Friend of Orphans,” a historical biography of Irish businesswoman and philanthropist Margaret Haughery. With Garvey, she also wrote a history of Holy Angels Academy, the high school which both attended.
Mrs. Widmer’s book “Lace Curtain” earned her an award from the Irish Cultural Society for preserving Irish traditions in New Orleans.
Born Mary Lou Schultis, Widmer was a New Orleans native and graduate of Loyola University. She was a past president of the south Louisiana chapter of Romance Writers of America, secretary of the Daughters of 1812 and member of Louisiana Colonials, the Preservation Resource Center and Friends of the Cabildo.
Mrs. Widmer’s husband of 70 years, Albert, died in 2016.
Survivors include a son, Albert Widmer Jr., and daughter, Dana Duggan, as well as four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A funeral Mass will be said Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at St. Pius X Church, 6666 Spanish Fort Blvd., New Orleans. Visitation will be held from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m.
