Yvonne Georges Roth Gelpi

1937 - 2016

Yvonne Georges Roth Gelpi passed away at home on December 15, 2016, with her children by her side. She was born on May 5, 1937. She graduated from The Academy of the Sacred Heart in 1955, and H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College in 1958. She enjoyed many years at Sacred Heart – as a teacher, a counselor and as the Principal of the High School. Recently, Yvonne was honored as 2015 Alumna of The Year by Sacred Heart. In 1991, she began her second career at De La Salle High School in New Orleans, serving as President and Principal. She oversaw the transition of De La Salle to coeducation and instituted a groundbreaking drug testing program at the school, with the goal of rehabilitation and support. Her family is very proud of her work at De La Salle, despite her husband's and son's Jesuit affiliation. She retired from De La Salle in 2003, but returned briefly as Interim President in 2011. She continued her service to education in later years with terms on boards of various schools, stretching from Archbishop Hannan High School in Covington to Our Lady Academy in Bay St. Louis. Yvonne was an active member, board member, and officer of the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club. She performed volunteer services for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the Republican National Convention in New Orleans in 1988. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gerard Trower Gelpi; her parents, Richard Joseph Roth, Sr. and Alice Camors Roth; as well as her brother, Richard Joseph Roth, Jr. She is survived by her three children, Suzanne Gelpi Bear (Adam) of Charlotte, NC, Gerard Beauregard Gelpi of Mandeville, LA, and Pierre Gustave Gelpi (Susan) of Bay St. Louis, MS. Loving "E" of James Adam Bear IV, Ford Beauregard Gelpi, Haley Elizabeth Gelpi, Olivia Louise Gelpi, Isabelle Marie Gelpi, Marguerite Claire Gelpi, and Julia Yvonne Gelpi. Yvonne is also survived by her siblings Alice "Sister" Georges Roth, Kathleen "Kit" Georges Roth, Camors Christopher Roth, James Frederick Roth, and Brian David Roth. The visitation will be on Wednesday, December 21, 2016, from 11:00 a.m. until1:00 p.m. at Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, with a Mass of Christian Burial to follow. A reception will be held at the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club after the mass. In lieu of flowers, donations to Children's Hospital of New Orleans, www.chnola.org, are appreciated. Edmond Fahey Funeral Home in Bay St. Louis is assisting with the arrangements. The family greatly appreciates the support received from hospice and her caregivers. Edmond Fahey Funeral Home in Bay St. Louis, MS.