John D. Kitchen — No. 185

Post date: Oct 23, 2017 6:56:41 PM

John David Kitchen passed away on Monday evening, Feb. 15, 2016, at Ochsner Hospital, following a long battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The beloved husband of Linda Lastrapes Kitchen, John and Linda had been married for 48 years. John was also the loving father to two daughters, Elizabeth Kitchen Cihon (Christopher) and Catherine Kitchen Levendis (John), and devoted grandfather to two adoring grandchildren, Natalie Celeste Cihon and John (Jack) Vasilis Levendis.

The latter two, in particular, provided their grandfather with a frequent excuse for chocolate chip cookie baking and delighted in sharing the results of those baking sessions with their Granddaddy and Papou.

John was born Sept. 27, 1943, in Detroit to David Shiloh Kitchen and Dalpha Mary Ann Potter and at a young age moved to Poplar Bluff, Mo.,while his father served in World War II.A longtime resident of Poplar Bluff, John and his cousin (now Judge) Stephen R. Mitchell grew up on a steady diet of cowboy adventures and formed a lifelong brotherhood and love of the law.John graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 1961 before earning a B.A. from Arkansas State University in 1965. There he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity (Iota Theta Zeta No. 185).After moving to New Orleans and working for the Department of Labor as a wage and hour investigator, John attended the LSU Law School and received his J.D. in 1970.While in New Orleans, John met the love of his life, the former Linda Louise Lastrapes, on a blind date. The two were married on Dec. 29, 1967.John enjoyed a long and distinguished career in real estate law in New Orleans. A partner in the Jones, Walker law firm, he took great pride in representing a broad spectrum of this city's most famous musicians, restaurateurs and athletes over the course of his 37-year practice and stayed in touch with many of those friends and clients even after his retirement.

John served as a member of, and secretary to, the Board of Directors for Hibernia Homestead and also as a vice chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of New Orleans, assisting with real estate matters. He was an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where he enjoyed teaching Sunday school classes and of the Krewes of Hermes and Dorians.

John was, until the last, an avid reader and strong supporter of the New Orleans Saints and LSU Tigers football teams.

He and Linda travelled in recent years preceding his illness and particularly enjoyed an extended visit to the Holy Land in 2010.

Above all, John loved his family, and in his later years his two young grandchildren brought great joy to his life, and a renewed twinkle to his eye. He was a kind, generous and humble man who will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure to know him.

A memorial service in John's honor was held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 6244 Canal Blvd., on Feb. 27, 2016.

Donations to St. Paul's Episcopal Church or the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (pulmonaryfibrosis.org) would be appreciated.