Alice Cosse Labat

Alice Mae Cosse Labat, age 93, born December 6, 1928 entered into eternal rest on June 7, 2022. She is pre-deceased by her loving husband of 66 years Ubert J. Labat, Jr. She is survived by her loving sons Ashley Paul (Jeanne), Andre Charles (Bridget), Mark Ubert (Barbara) and Aaron Patrick and grandchildren April Labat Arnone (Robert), Timothy Ashley Labat and Alyssa Louise Labat.

She was born in Bertrandville, Louisiana to Thomas Jefferson Cosse and Louise Farrell Cosse. She is also pre-deceased by her sister Belle Marie Cosse and brothers Benjamin Cosse, Percy Thomas Cosse and Charles Seagle Cosse. Alice was also blessed with an extended family of step grandchildren and step great grandchildren.

Despite losing both of her parents before she reached the age of 12, Alice with the help of her older sister Belle, graduated from high school with honors and later attended St. Mary’s Dominican College where she lived and practiced her Christian beliefs on a daily basis. Her perseverance and hard work resulted in her graduating Summa Cum Laude in her class with a degree in Secondary Education. She later went on to earn her Masters Degree in Education which she put to work as a teacher for over 40 year in Catholic, public and private schools.

Despite the pressures of raising four boys, caring for a husband and sister and working full time, Alice always kept her faith alive and stayed close to God. As a parishioner of various parishes such as Immaculate Heart of Mary and later Our Lady of Lourdes, she was very involved in various ministries such as: the church choir, Eucharistic Minister, Lecturer, Altar Society and other groups and special events when called upon.  

Alice was blessed with a beautiful, strong, clear and firm voice and was drawn to sing with the various church choirs for over 55 years. One day her voice even carried a little louder when she was asked by the Archdiocese of New Orleans along with others to sing for Pope Paul when he made his historic visit to New Orleans many years ago. This special choir was formed and led by Sisters Hillary and Hildegard to commemorate the occasion. As Alice recalled, “she felt blessed and honored to be part of such an event, one she will never forget.”  

Despite all of this, Alice still found time to be involved in several outside activities. She was a very active member of the St. Mary’s Dominican Alumni Association and as an active supporter to the Dominican nuns who still reside there. She took over the role as President of the Association for many years and has also held other offices over the years. Once Alice retired from the teaching profession, she started her training as a calligrapher. Over the years, Alice's skills developed which resulted in her being considered a master calligrapher. She was an active member of the New Orleans Calligraphy Lettering Arts Association and has held several positions such as the Publicity Chairman. Two of Alice's highlights as a calligrapher came when she was asked by the late Frank Davis to be interviewed for one of his episodes of "Naturally Nawlins" and when the US Postal Service picked the envelope Alice designed using real pressed flowers which was put on display at the Smithsonian Institute.

The family wishes to thank the staff of Summerfield Retirement Community and Heart of Hospice for their kindness, outstanding service and dedication.  

Visitation will be held on Saturday, June 11th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM with a Funeral Mass following at 12:15 PM in the J. Garic Schoen Chapel at Jacob Schoen & Son, 3827 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70119. Interment will follow in Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum. In lieu of flowers, plants would be appreciated so that Alice's presence could live on with family members.

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