Norman L. Gunn

A Mass of Christian Burial for Norman L. Gunn will be celebrated in Our Lady of Prompt Succor Catholic Church on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 10 a.m., with the Rev. Dan O'Connor officiating. Interment at Greenwood Memorial Park, Pineville, under the direction of John Kramer & Son. Visitation at John Kramer & Son on Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a rosary service at 6:30 p.m. Visitation resumes at the funeral home on Thursday, Nov. 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Norman L. Gunn, 84, of Alexandria, passed away Oct. 30, 2011, in Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Baton Rouge. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dixie Breithaupt; and a son, Lewell S. Gunn. Norman graduated high school from St. Mary's Academy, Natchitoches, in 1943. He attended Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, from 1943-1945 and graduated with a bachelor of science degree from LSU in 1949. Norman was a U.S. Army veteran and served in the United States, Japan and Europe from 1945-1946, discharged as staff sergeant and again from 1951-1953, in Korea, discharged as captain. He was involved with various banking schools including Northwestern University in Chicago and LSU. He was employed by Rapides Bank and Trust Co., Alexandria, from 1950-1988, where he was senior vice president, later retiring in 1988. Mr. Gunn was a past president of the Alexandria-Pineville Chamber of Commerce, where he was named a lifetime member, only the fifth member in history to receive such a designation, past president of the Louisiana Air Force Association and Alexandria Air Force Association, past president of Leonidas Polk Chapter Association of the U.S. Army, past president of the March of Dimes, Rapides Parish. He was past chairman and founding member of the Louisiana Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. He was a 30-year friend of Bill W. Additionally, he was a past chairman of the Rapides Parish U.S. Treasury Bond Division, past chairman of Central Louisiana Clearing House Association, past member of the Federal Affairs Committee, past member and director of Louisiana Bankers Association, past chairman of the Rapides United Way Campaign, past district chairman of the Choctaw District, Attakapas Council and the Boy Scouts of America and past chairman of the Rapides Parish American Red Cross. Those left to cherish his memory are two daughters, Frances G. Dick and Sally G. DuBose, both of Baton Rouge; one son, Norman L. Gunn Jr. and his wife, Pam, of St. Louis; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and one sister, Mary G. Johnston and her husband, Sen. J. Bennett Johnston, of McLean, Va. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Lewell Sadler Gunn Memorial Fund, c/o Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church Grounds, 420 21st St., Alexandria, LA 71301. Online notes of condolence may be sent to the family at kramerfunerals@aol.com.