Audrey Mae Chevalier George

 

AUDREY MAE CHEVALIER GEORGE was born on May 6, 1929, on Cane River in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, and baptized on June 2, 1929. Audrey was the twelfth of fourteen children born to Constant Jr. and Elizabeth Hebert Chevalier. Audrey and her parents represent two generations, with their

lifetimes spanning into three consecutive centuries. Our Beloved Mother passed on to eternal life on Sunday, May 7, 2023, aged 94, fulfilling a long-held desire to live to be the same age as her mother.

Affectionately called “Audra Mae” growing up and sometimes “Red” because of the color of her hair. Her family and social life centered around the Isle Brevelle Community of Creole’s of Color anchored by the historic St. Augustine Catholic Church. Hers was a rich heritage with known ancestral lines to France and to the Ewe of West Africa.

Audrey attended elementary and high school on Cane River. In 1950 she was awarded a Scholarship to Southern University in Baton Rouge, given to high school Valedictorians in Louisiana. After attending Southern for only one semester, Audrey continued her studies at Howard University, working toward a degree in business.

While home for the holidays in 1951, Audrey met Horace Raymond George at a dance, and love bloomed. They married on March 20, 1952, in Washington DC, and moved to Milwaukee later that year. Audrey pursued a career as a Real Estate agent and valued the friendships she cultivated, some enduring for over fifty years. As her children grew Audrey involved her family in Jack & Jill of America, and she served as a Boy Scout Den mother and Girl Scout leader. She also served on Holy Angels’ Church Parish Council, as a Docent at the Milwaukee War Memorial Center/Art Museum, and was a supporting member of the NAACP.

Determined to achieve her educational goals, Audrey received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1971 from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She later attained two Masters Degrees, in Speech Pathology/Audiology and Elementary School Administration. This career path was quite fitting in that family members, friends and co-workers alike talked about seeking out Audrey’s counsel, for she would ‘listen’ intently and be thoughtful and practical in her response.

Audrey retired from the Milwaukee Public Schools Administration in June 1993 after twenty-seven years in Speech and Language Programs, as an acting principal, and as a key developer of cultural sensitivity programs that recognized language norms for African American students in Milwaukee and Houston. She was well recognized as a distinguished educator and leader.

It was a tremendous joy for Audrey to be a founding and/or dedicated lifetime member of the Milwaukee Chapter, The Links Incorporated and The Girlfriends Inc. (Milwaukee Chapter). At various times she served as President, Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer for one or both organizations. And, she was equally delighted to be inducted into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Epsilon Kappa Omega Chapter) in May 1992. Welcoming her into the afterlife are her husband Horace Raymond George, and sons Gregory Harold George and Michael Francis George, her parents (Constant and Elizabeth Chevalier) and siblings. Audrey Mae Chevalier George leaves to celebrate her life, children: Gary (Patricia Schulz) George, Janice George, and Mark George; her grandchildren: Alexander, Daniel and Grace George, Kaitlyn (Adam) Zielke, Michelle Wheatley and Rachelle Wheatley Gregoire, Michelle George (Lisa) and Michael Ray (Kelly) George; Chloe George, Peter George, Halle (Joshua) Opat and Makayla Collins; her great grandchildren: Toni, Damien and Dominic Gregoire, Lorilyn Collins and Stanley Opat, godchildren: Joseph Moran, Audrey Leak Coates, Dr. Linnie Golightly Smith, Matthew

Simpson, other daughter Andrea Simpson, her lifelong friend Gloria Sers Jones, and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.  All of us who love and admire Audrey Chevalier George, celebrate her remarkable life and wish God to shower blessings upon her spirit and soul as she is welcomed into a well-deserved everlasting peace.