Elizabeth Nell Dubus Michel "Beth" Baldridge

1933 - 2020

Elizabeth "Beth" Nell Dubus Michel Baldridge died August 30 in Baton Rouge. Born in 1933 in Lake Charles to Katherine Bertha Burke and Andre Jules Dubus, Beth was a celebrated author, teacher, and community activist, well known for founding the BR Arts Council and launching the first annual Arts Festival, Fest For All. She was awarded the Volunteer Activist Award in 1978 for her work to make the arts a central part of the BR community. A respected journalist with a popular weekly column "Conversations Over Coffee" in the BR Enterprise, and an acclaimed novelist writing as Elizabeth Nell Dubus, Beth published, in the US, UK and France, a well-loved trilogy based in the Cajun and French culture of Louisiana. An award winning playwright, her plays were published and produced around the US. She shared her love of writing as a beloved teacher in the English departments of LSU, the University of Lafayette and Southern University and co-created and directed a vibrant drama program at Angola State Prison. She is survived by Elizabeth Michel, Pamela Michel Chavez, Maggi Michel, Aimée Michel Lawson, DeLauné Michel Fried, Anne Baldridge Salafia, Robert Andreas Baldridge, Charles Wilson Baldridge and her beloved grandchildren. To view and sign the guest book visit www.Rabenhorst.com.