One Day, Two Final Farewells
The Pair-of-Dice brass band led the second line for Otis Fennell down Esplanade Avenue on April
April 2024The French Quarter and Marigny recently celebrated the lives of two beloved neighborhood personalities – street performer Peter Bennett and bookstore owner Otis Fennell.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
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Peter Bennett
Peter Bennett performing his glass harp on Jackson Square, photograph by Rich Kaszeta, with permission.
Peter Bennett with his loyal companion, Bentley, on Chartres Street in 2020 during the pandemic shutdowns, photo by Ellis Anderson
As Peter aged in place at his Dumaine Street apartment, friends, other street performers and neighbors teamed up to care for him as long as possible, since his sons lived far away. He passed away in January this year.
Suzanne Gordon helped out with care for Bentley and when Peter could no longer walk him, Suzanne adopted the pooch, who has become a well-known neighborhood personality himself.
On the day of Peter’s final send-off, fellow performers, friends, neighbors and family gathered on Dumaine Street.
Peter’s family (l to r), Douglass P. Bennett (who came from Ithaca, New York, close to his father’s birthplace of Cortland, NY), Peter’s ex-wife and best freind, Anne S. Bennett (who hails from both Canada and Buffalo, NY) and son, Adam BK Bennett, who traveled from his home in Alaska.
The Second line wound through the French Quarter to the riverbank, where Peter’s ashes were consigned to the Mississippi River, a New Orleans tradition.
Bentley looks on curiously as Douglass consigns his father’s ashes to the Mississippi River. Photo by Robert Simms.
Otis Fennell
Otis Fennell was often called the “Mayor of Frenchmen Street,” since he held court at the shop he owned for 15 years, Faubourg-Marigny Art and Books – even after he sold it in 2018 to friend David Zalkind. You can read about this ground-breaking bookstore and Otis’s tenure as steward in this French Quarter Journal story.
Otis in Faubourg-Marigny Art & Books, photo by David Zalkind
Led by the Pair-of-Dice brass band, family members and friends paraded up Esplanade Avenue from the Frenchmen Street shop, headed for the iconic Faerie Playhouse, former home of gay activist Stuart Butler and the final resting place for the ashes of many local LGBTQ activists and leaders.
Luke Schneemanc(grandson), Brit Schneeman, one of Otis’s daughters, and Patrician Unangst.
Officiant Vera Lester speaks to Otis’s family and friends.
Fennell’s friend and current Faubourg-Marigny Art & Books owner was one of several people who shared stories with the assembled crowd.
Otis’s daughters consign his ashes to the Faerie Playhouse patio garden.
Otis’s ashes covered with rose petals. The brass plaques on the bricks name the other people who share space now with Otis.
Otis Fennell’s extended family at the bookstore. His daughters, Tiffany (holding daughter) and Brit (pink dress) are third and second from right in the front.
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