Gustaf Reinhold Westfeldt McIlhenny, died peacefully at his home in Damariscotta, Maine on April 21, 2024. Gus was born in 1951 in New Orleans, Louisiana, the youngest of the five children to Paul W. McIlhenny and Margaret Polk McIlhenny, who predeceased him. He is survived by his sister, Sara McIlhenny Ringle; sister-in- law, Judith McIlhenny of Louisiana; four nieces; and many cousins. Gus lived an interesting, and unusual life, both in the United States and Europe. He was a lifelong volunteer for causes and people he cared deeply about. He had an abiding interest in music, and he loved cooking for people and watching them enjoy the foods he presented. He was often happiest when he was standing in front of a rotund turkey fryer, tending it until the skin was brown and crispy on the outside and the meat, still juicy on the inside. Gus cooked for Ben and Jerry of ice cream fame, he cooked for many years at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, and for many of the Jazz/rock greats of his time: Mahalia Jackson, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin etc. To thank the nurses and staff at Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta, Gus held an outdoor picnic at the hospital in their honor, serving his carefully cooked turkey. His special marinade, and secret sauce made this dish unforgettable, and the occasion memorable. Among these many other things, Gus was a gifted musician, a world class photographer, and a raconteur. He had an incredible memory for people, places and events which enabled him to tell stories full of anecdotes and details, in an amusing and colorful way. The years Gus spent living in Damariscotta, Maine, were among the happiest of his life. His family wishes to thank his amazing cadre of caregivers, friends and relatives who helped Gus immensely through the years, and through the last few months: Minda Gold, Wendy Williams, Robert and Sim Gregory, Liz Ferrero, Kyle Bragg, Jonah Vesery, Ian Ronan and Zach Rownan. We are so grateful for your loving care and kindness. Should you wish to make a gift in Gus' honor, please consider donating to Lincoln Academy, 81 Academy Hill Road, Newcastle, ME. 04553, or to the charity of your choice. Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main Street, Damariscotta, ME 04543. Condolences, and messages for his family, may be expressed by visiting: www.StrongHancock.com.

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Published by The Times-Picayune from Apr. 29 to Apr. 30, 2024.

Memories and Condolences
for Gustaf McIlhenny

Sponsored by Strong-Hancock Funeral Home.

11 Entries

George Felton

May 9, 2024

To G.R.'s family. I met Gus in 1970. I was learning to play the guitar and Gus was already a pretty good player. We had a band together for a brief time. We had some rollicking adventures on a trip to Columbia, South America. We followed Eric Clapton from New Orleans to Florida. We were pals. I am saddened to hear of his passing. Please accept my condolences. George Felton

Bernard (Ben) Eble

May 7, 2024

Two more Gus anecdotes:

I am not sure of the year, but in the early 90´s, Gus enlisted me for a memorable excursion to Seattle to see the Rolling Stones in concert. He had made friends with the guy who was in charge of the stage pyrotechnics of the show. I have a vivid memory of sitting in the back of the extended cab of a semi watching the fireworks genius up front, working on his laptop putting the finishing touches on the show. We both had "laminates" for entry to the stage crew areas, which allowed us to walk into the concert hall and occupy seats on the edge up front that were vacant. To say the least, that was quite a memorable show. We stayed the night in a hotel populated by the stage crew and concert goers, which turned into a late night party. Remarkably, we ran into a long lost friend from home who had moved to an Island in the Sound and had his street named "Hey Pockey Way" to honor his NOLA heritage. Some years later, Gus sadly informed me that most of the pyrotechnic crew and its creative genius had died in a tragic explosives accident.

Although Gus usually stayed in hotels when he traveled, there was one notable exception. In 1995, I joined Gus high in the Colorado rockies at an annual campout hosted by a friend who lived in a cabin up at appreciable altitude. The exact day I flew out can be remembered as the August day Jerry Garcia died. Gus had introduced me to a wonderful couple with whom I rode to the gathering, finding Gus at his "frying" setup. After dinner, we sat around the campfire, while the mountain boys made their own quiet but colorful fireworks, by putting a bit of powder in open metal cans into the embers. The high altitude was a killer, but the mountain scenery, the people, and Gus´s fried turkey were all amazing over the days of the encampment.

Drew Holshouser

May 7, 2024

He was a great friend to the subdudes. Generous and extremely supportive.
"Carry on and have yourself a lovely ride"
Drew Holshouser sound engineer for
Subdudes

Bernard (Ben) Eble

May 7, 2024

Pardon the typos in my tribute: at the end of the first paragraph, "Perfecting his receipt" should be "perfecting his recipe" and later, "to low to build" should be "too low to build". Thank you. BE

Bernard (Ben) Eble

May 7, 2024

Gus was kind of like the big brother I never had. I first met him briefly in the 70s when he was jamming with some guys in a garage band. When I moved out to Los Angeles in 74, my neighborhood locals kept up with him, and I was once brought to his trailer in the woods on the North Shore where he was perfecting his receipt for injected, fried turkey.

Next thing you know Jazzfest took off and my locals were visiting Gus in the stables behind Jazzfest where he was deep frying turkeys or anything that couldn´t jump out of the pot, for the stage hands. As I became an annual regular at the Fest, I, too, visited. It was the best thing I had ever tasted. A few years later, what always happens when some people carve out a niche and other people decide otherwise, happened, and instead of working his way into the "in crowd", he was given the "bum´s rush", which was appropriately one of Gus´s favorite expressions.

After this time I was only sporadically keeping up with him by phone, and one day he and my oldest friend showed up on my doorstep in San Francisco. Well, there were never any more enjoyable apartment mates. The more you got to know Gus the more you liked him. He was one of the most sincere and good-natured guys I´ve ever met. We visited more NOLA expatriates in Lake Tahoe and it was a grand reunion. We afterwards began to keep up regularly by phone. His next visit came when I was involved with a wonderful but chronically ill woman to whom Gus showed much compassion. Although he could be ornery when challenged, he had a basically kind and compassionate nature. I heard much about his trips to Holland for tulip season and forays to Hawaii, where he cultivated contacts.

Gus and I went on two trips to HI, where I had never before visited. The local NOLA expatriates had a creole cuisine restaurant on the "wet" (rainy) or locals side of the "Big Island" and the community decided to put on a "Mardi Gras" celebration in the Spring, with Gus frying turkeys as the authentic attraction. Well, we were treated like royalty by the folks there. They held a "supper dance" and we were the guests of honor. Thanks to Gus, I met a number of interesting people from all walks of life. He was always open to anyone who was genuine. We were accepted by native Hawaiians and Anglos alike, and returned to SF after visiting Maui and its waterfalls. This trip I consider one of my personal highlights. We planned a second trip in 96, but I was injured the night before I was to fly out to meet up with gus in Maui and showed up on crutches, which kind of killed our plans to tear up the town.

We lost touch for a while, but had a reunion when he showed up here in NOLA after I moved back to the house I grew up in. He was only here for a visit, and we resumed keeping up by phone. I heard about his several attempts to settle in Maine, beginning with the site by a lake he found was to low to build on, then his "horse farm" in rural Appleton which was repeatedly vandalized, his "dairy farm" in Liberty which was a refuge from the vandals, and his house on Maui where they don´t allow mainlanders to buy, only lease. Am glad he was able to get a place towards the Maine coast to be near the hospital that was taking care of him.

I will always be indebted to Gus for his brotherly advice. One of the last conversations I had with him was to thank him for the advice he gave to a 60 year old confirmed bachelor to "put a ring on the finger" of the woman who turned out to be my soul mate. Gus broke off contact again around 2015 after we got married, but I continued to get news of him via mutual friends until a couple of years ago. Was always hoping to see his smiling face again on my doorstep. I can´t help but think he was looking down on Jazzfest this year.
Bernard (Ben)Eble

Charles Hermann

May 5, 2024

As a friend of Gus´s from long ago, I´ll always remember his forever smiling face, his sense of humor and the captivating way he told stories. I enjoyed playing music with him and tasting some of the food he prepared. We lost contact with each other for many years but was fortunate enough to reconnect and catch up recently. l will always remember the good man that Gus was.
My Condolences to his family.

Charles Curtis

April 30, 2024

G.R. was a wonderful person. I have very fond memories of running around Avery Island with him, his cousin Chaffe and Paul Archinard. The feeding of the alligators was a particularly memorable event. G.R. would call them and their heads would pop out of the water. I will never forget our times together.

Tague Richardson

April 30, 2024

Gus was a great friend I met him in 1970 when myself and 2 friends move into 8th street 3 housee off of Camp street. Gus family home was on 8th and Camp. Gus was childhood friends with Robin Durant on of my roommates. Gus came over every day to hang and play music. We became life long friends. Over the years Gus followed me to every Festival I ever did. Cooking turkey. He sent Garnet and I to fry turkeys for Quint Davis in England and then took us to Amsterdam. Over the following years Gus became harder to contact as he withdrew from all of his past friends from NO. He was a fabulous person with love for everyone. He was loved by all of us at Jazzfest. Gus's Brother called me twice to alert Him of family members who passed away. We at Jazzfest considered Gus part of our family. We cried together upon learning we wouldn't see him again. Truly will miss him and have for a long time.

Kenny Spellman

April 30, 2024

On behalf of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart Alumni Association and Brother Martin High School, I offer our prayers and condolences. We will say a Mass in his memory.

Kenny Spellman ´84
Brother Martin High School

Hugh Riddleberger

April 30, 2024

Gus was a character with a kind and loving heart. Those of us who loved him will dearly miss him.

Hazell Boyce-Schumacher

April 29, 2024

G.R. (as he was known in his youth) was the playful little brother of my best friend Sara. He entertained us on McIlhenny family trips to Avery Island and Highlands. It is heartwarming to learn that he had such a fulfilling life in Maine.

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