Dolores Brisbi "Dodie" Treen

Treen, Dolores Brisbi "Dodie" Dolores "Dodie" Brisbi Treen, wife of David C. Treen, died of cancer Friday night, March 18, 2005, at her home near Mandeville. She was 75. She was born on Nov. 23, 1929, in New Orleans. She attended McMain High School, where she was class president, and the Newcomb College of Tulane University, where she was elected president of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. While in college she met David Treen and they were married four years later, on May 26, 1951, at Christ Church Cathedral in New Orleans. Married life first took her to Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, and to an additional tour of duty in London, England, while her husband served in the U.S. Air Force. As her husband later pursued a career in government as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor of Louisiana, Dodie was an effective campaigner, cherished confidant, cheerful hostess and public servant in her own right. Her life as first lady included responsibility for the planning and execution of numerous receptions and meetings. As official hostess, she regarded the Governor's Mansion as belonging to the people of Louisiana. With bipartisan support and the unanimous vote of the Legislature, she established a statewide Louisiana Mansion Commission to plan for the décor of the public rooms and to raise funds from private donors to acquire furnishings appropriate to the 1830s-style plantation building. Her interests and civic involvements were many and varied. She worked diligently on the Keep Louisiana Beautiful Campaign and assisted with various charity events and causes including Children's Hospital, the Retarded Children Association, the Ladies Leukemia Society and the Mental Health Association in metropolitan New Orleans. A woman of sincere Christian faith, she was a member of St. Timothy United Methodist Church in Mandeville. She was preceded in death by her parents, August Joseph Brisbi and May Payne Brisbi; and her sister, Dorothy Brisbi Boyer. She is survived by her devoted husband of 54 years, David C. Treen; her sister, Charlotte Brisbi Doyle; daughter, Jennifer Treen Neville, Mandeville; son and daughter-in-law, Dr. David C. Treen Jr. and Michelle Mayeur Treen, Metairie; daughter and son-in-law, Cynthia Treen Lunceford and Lloyd J. Lunceford, Baton Rouge; and nine grandchildren, Jason, Jarrett and Jordan Neville, Rachel Allison and David Treen III and Sarah, Rebecca and Andrew Lunceford. Memorial service will be held at St. Timothy United Methodist Church, located at 335 Asbury Drive, Mandeville, beginning at noon Tuesday, March 22. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Methodist Home for Children, 815 Washington Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130, or the Mental Health Association in metropolitan New Orleans, 1140 Calhoun St. Schoen Funeral Home in Covington is in charge of arrangements. Interment will be private.