[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING MRS. MARY FREEMAN KELLER ZERVIGON, A CHERISHED PUBLIC 
SERVANT FROM THE STATE OF LOUISIANA CELEBRATING HER LIFE AS A TIRELESS 
          CIVIC ACTIVIST AND FIXTURE AT CITY HALL FOR DECADES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TROY A. CARTER

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 13, 2022

  Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute 
to an outstanding, cherished public servant from my home State of 
Louisiana. My dear friend, Mrs. Mary Freeman Keller Zervigon was an 
amazing human being, that left us far too soon. She passed away on 
August 27, 2022 surrounded by her loving family .
  A lifelong New Orleanian, Mrs. Zervigon was a policy leader, 
philanthropist and beloved civic leader who held posts in two mayoral 
administrations and spent countless hours serving on civic boards 
working to improve the city. She lived her life doing what she believed 
was the right thing to do.
  Raised with civic activism in her DNA, her grandfather A.B. Freeman, 
who led the Louisiana Coca-Cola Bottling Co., was too a civic leader 
and philanthropist. Her mother, Mrs. Rosa Freeman Keller, was an 
outspoken advocate of racial justice whose accomplishments included 
desegregating New Orleans' public libraries.
  At the time of her death, Mary was president of the Board of 
Liquidation, City Debt, and a member of Xavier University of 
Louisiana's Board of Trustees, the governing boards of New Orleans 
Charter Science and Mathematics High School, the Jesuit Social Research 
Institute and the School Leadership Center. She also served on the 
Public Affairs Research Council's research committee.
  For much of her life, Mary worked full-time. When Moon Landrieu 
served as mayor, she was his executive assistant, then director of the 
city's Transportation Department. During Sidney Barthelemy's mayoral 
administration, she served as the city's lobbyist in Baton Rouge. Her 
ability to cut right to the chase made her an ideal lobbyist 
representing New Orleans during tough Legislative sessions. From 1988 
to 1992, Mary also served as chairwoman of the Louisiana Tax 
Commission.
  She was a trustee of one family foundation and the president of 
another. Although Mary's work with those charities was public, she also 
gave generously--and anonymously--to many other causes and 
organizations.
  Mary may have been humble, but she was hardly a doormat, said former 
first lady Sybil Morial, who worked with her on the New Orleans Science 
and Math High School Board. ``She spoke her mind,'' Morial said. ``She 
had a lot of qualities her mother had. . . . I had great admiration for 
her because she was so frank.''
  A lifelong New Orleanian, Mary graduated from the Isidore Newman 
School. She did not finish college until after she married Luis Mario 
Zervigon, had five children, and later divorced. Then she enrolled at 
Loyola University New Orleans, where she earned undergraduate and law 
degrees.
  In 1973, Mary was a delegate to the state Constitutional Convention. 
Other civic activities in her resume included memberships on the 
Sewerage & Water Board, the Human Relations Commission and the boards 
of the Bureau of Governmental Research, the Urban League of Greater New 
Orleans, the Metropolitan Area Committee, Loyola University New 
Orleans, and the Girl Scouts Louisiana East. She also served as a Girl 
Scout troop leader.
  In recognition of her tireless service, Mary received the Alexis de 
Tocqueville Award, the highest honor from the United Way of Southeast 
Louisiana, and the Hannah G. Solomon Award from the National Council of 
Jewish Women.
  She is survived by three sons, Andres Zervigon of New York City and 
Carlos and Luis Zervigon, both of New Orleans; two daughters, Alicia 
Zervigon of New Orleans and Rosa Landry of Abita Springs; 12 
grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
  Madam Speaker, I am humbled to have crossed Mary Freeman Keller 
Zervigon's path during my lifetime. The support and guidance I received 
from her during my professional career will be something I will cherish 
forever. I am humbly grateful for all she has done to serve so many 
that crossed her path. I am honored to celebrate Mary as a true leader 
in the great State of Louisiana.

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