Alease Byrd Darensbourg

A resident of Baton Rouge, she died peacefully at home on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009. She taught home economics for 40 years at Capitol High School and retired from the East Baton Rouge Parish school system. She was 88. Visiting at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church on Wednesday, Dec. 30, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., with recitation of the rosary at 9:30 a.m. and funeral Mass at 10 a.m., with the Rev. Michael Thompson, SSJ, celebrant. Interment in Gilbert Cemetery under the direction of Scott's Bluff Morticians. She is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Janelle and Louis Carter; two sisters and a brother-in-law, Verda Byrd, and Patricia and Calvin Thierry; and brother and sister-in-law, John and Doris Byrd, all of Baton Rouge. Also survived by seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by her husband, Douglas Darensbourg; parents, John and Beatrice Byrd; four sisters, Janice Byrd, Beulah LaMotte, Ethel Amar, and Cecelia Key. She graduated with honors from McKinley High, Southern University and Cornell University (New York). She was a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.