Captain Joseph Theophile Katz U.S.N. (Ret)

Captain Joseph Theophile Katz, U.S.N. (Ret.) – A Naval Aviator, was born in New Orleans February 2, 1922, and died at home in New Orleans October 19, 2009. Captain Katz was a member of what has been called "The Greatest Generation." He served in the United States Navy for more than 30 years and was a decorated veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Following graduation from Fortier High School, Captain Katz attended Tulane’s School of Engineering. He subsequently joined Tulane’s V5 (Naval Aviation) Program, training as a civil pilot at the Lakefront Airport. Thereafter, Captain Katz attended the Navy’s pre-flight school at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and was commissioned as a Naval Aviator at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. He received an Aeronautical Science degree. He attended the Navy Line School in Monterey, California. Captain Katz’s other post-graduate studies included the Navy Schools of Military Justice, Public Affairs/Information, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Airborne Weapons Delivery Systems (Nuclear and Conventional), Deployment Training Survival Schools, and Flight Training Schools. While in the Navy, Captain Katz piloted jet planes, propeller planes, helicopters, blimps (lighter than air), and helium balloons. While in WWII, Captain Katz served in the Pacific Theater as a fighter pilot aboard the Aircraft Carrier "USS Belleau Wood," and along the Atlantic Coast with a "Blimp" Squadron on anti-submarine detection missions. In the Korean War, Captain Katz was a fighter pilot aboard the "USS Leyte" at the Inchon Landing. In Vietam, he was at Yankee Station aboard the "USS Enterprise." Captain Katz also served aboard the "USS Bennington" and the "USS Yorktown." During Captain Katz’s 30-plus year Naval career, he was stationed throughout the United States, including Monterey, California, NAS San Diego where he was ops/xo of Helicopter Squadron-4. Captain Katz became a lifelong "Cubs" fan while stationed at NAS Glenview, Illinois outside Chicago. He served tours of duty at the Pentagon, where he was the Public Affairs Officer for the Navy, Naval Air Stations along the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, Pensacola, the Blimp base in Houma, and in New Orleans at NAS Belle Chasse. He participated in Naval cruises in the Pacific, Japan, Hawaii, South America, and the Mediterranean. He joined the Navy and truly "[saw] the world." After retiring from the Navy, Captain Katz became the Executive Director of the Sugar Bowl. During his ten-year tenure, he helped build the event to its present status as one of the premier sporting events in the country. Joe was intricate in the Sugar Bowl’s move from Tulane Stadium to the Superdome and in designing the Dome’s press box. During his years in the service, Captain Katz received the Navy’s Air Medals with Clusters, the Coast Guard Commendation Medal, and special recognition from the City and the State as a Senior Helicopter pilot at NAS NOLA during Hurricane Betsy when his unit rescued more than 800 survivors in a three-day period from the Lower Ninth Ward and Chalmette, for which he received his third Air Medal. Captain Katz was an All-Prep Baseball player at Fortier in 1938, and in 1939, he was an All-City, All-State, and All-Jr. American Legion player. He signed a contract with the Detroit Tigers, attending Spring Training in Lakeland, Florida, and played for Detroit’s Farm Team in the Alabama/Florida League prior to entering Tulane. While in the Navy, at UNC Flight School, Captain Katz played varsity baseball with Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky under White Sox Coach Don Keppler. Even in his retirement, Joe remained involved with the Sugar Bowl, which always held a special place in his heart. He helped coordinate press headquarters upon his retirement until the 2009 game. Joe enjoyed seeing his many dear friends during those years, including Coaches Bear Bryant (Alabama), Vince Dooley (Georgia), "Moose" Krause (Notre Dame), Joe Paterno (Penn State), Chuck Fairbanks (Oklahoma), and Jimmy Johnson (Oklahoma, Miami, Dallas). Following his retirement from the Sugar Bowl, Joe became the General Manager of the Rivergate Convention Center. On the election of his good friend Joe DiRosa to Judge in Civil District Court, Captain Katz (as he was fondly known and his button) became Judge DiRosa’s minute clerk and crier, a position he held for nearly twenty years under Judge DiRosa and his successor, the Honorable Max N. Tobias. Joe retired when Judge Tobias was subsequently elected to the Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit. Upon his retirement from Civil District Court, Captain Katz devoted his time to being an "Ambassador of Goodwill for the City of New Orleans" for the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. Captain Katz traveled to conventions throughout the country on behalf of the City, providing valuable information and encouraging their participation in conventions, which were scheduled for New Orleans in the coming years . . . a calling for which he was aptly suited. 　 Captain Katz had a life-long love of sports, and was intimately involved in New Orleans’ Sports Community, serving on the Host Committee for numerous events, including the NCAA Final Fours and the NFL Super Bowls. In recognition of his achievements for his involvement in the hospitality industry, Captain Katz received the "Hats Off Award" from the NOMCVB as its outstanding member for his devotion to the Bureau and the City, the "Spirit of Hospitality 2005" from Where Magazine, and is enshrined in the "Walk of Fame" outside the Hilton Riverside Hotel. He also received special recognition for serving on the 1999 originating committee for the Veterans’ Day Celebration, and for service to the Navy League of New Orleans, in the commissioning of the USS Louisiana nuclear submarine and the christening and commissioning of the USS New Orleans. Captain Katz has been involved with the NOMCVB since 1971, serving on the Executive Board and Board of Directors, the Board of Directors of the Bank of Louisiana, the Board of Directors for the Navy League of Greater New Orleans, and was an Ambassador for Eastern and Continental Airlines. Joe also was a member of the Football Writers Association, Travel Agents of Greater New Orleans, HSMA, HENA, the Naval Order, Retired Military Officers, American League, Military Order of World Wars, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Association of Naval Aviators, Naval Aviators Association, and was a founding member of the Navy Air Museum in Pensacola, Florida. Captain Katz was preceded in death by is first wife, Dorothy Callaghan Katz (a true Navy wife), and his parents, Joseph Katz and Antoinette Pumilia Katz Eitmann. Joe is survived by his devoted wife and best friend, Margie Doskey Katz; his daughters Suzanne Farrar (Tal), Joanne Ehrhard (Sidney); his grandchildren Bryan Farrar, Stephanie, Stephen, and Joey Ehrhard; his great-grandson Nicholas Ehrhard; his stepdaughter Leslie Doskey; stepson Chuck Doskey (Ellen); and step-grandchildren Charlie and Anna Doskey; Brother Eugene Katz (Anna Mae); and true friends too numerous to mention. Captain Katz was an Officer and a Gentleman. His wonderful smile and infamous "button" will forever loved and missed by all who knew him. Relatives and friends are invited to attend funeral services on Thursday, October 22, 2009 at LAKE LAWN METAIRIE FUNERAL HOME CHAPEL, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. at 1:00 PM . Interment to follow at Lake Lawn Park. Visitation from 11:00 until service time. Contributions to the Navy League of New Orleans, #2 Canal St., NOLA 70130 preferred. To sign the Family Guestbook, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com