Joan Roussel 

Published 10:16 am Friday, February 7, 2025

Joan Camille Verrett Roussell was born on November 15, 1938. She transitioned on February 2, 2025. She is preceded in death by her husband, Norward Roussell and her parents, Edna and John Verrett. She was a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, a cousin and a friend to so many.

Joan was born to Edna Dreux Verrett and John J. Verrett in New Orleans, Louisiana’s 7th Ward, on Columbus Street. She was raised by her parents and surrounded by family that included a host of aunts, her grandparents, Mama and Papa Dreux, and cousins. Though she was raised in the segregated South, born after the Great Depression and just before her father went to Japan to fight in World War II, Joan’s life was happy and full with her loving family. Everyone has heard some version of the joyful childhood stories she told of her life with her cousins, Beauty, Dottie, and Sonny, and later her baby sister, Francine. She was affectionately called “Bootsie” and the stories she shared were her “Bootsie Stories.”

As a small child, Joan went to Martinez Nursery School. She then attended St. Mary’s Academy on Bourbon and Orleans Street from kindergarten through high school. In 1955, she was St.Augustine High School’s first homecoming queen. She was also a majorette with the band and beloved by her classmates.

After graduating from high school, Joan attended Xavier University in New Orleans and graduated in 1960 with a degree in physical education. Joan began in her first role as an educator at Derham Jr. High School, where she served as the physical education teacher. It was at Derham that she met Norward Roussell, a recent graduate of Dillard University. Norward was in his first year as a science teacher. Little did they know the wonderful family they would build together. On May 6, 1961, Norward and Joan were married at Corpus Christi Catholic Church.

A few years after marrying, Joan and Norward welcomed their first child, Eric Martin Roussell, on August 25, 1963. A few years later, on February 20, 1966, they welcomed another son, Norman David Roussell. The family moved to Detroit, and later to Flint, Michigan as Norward pursued his doctoral degree in Education. In Flint, on March 26, 1979, they welcomed their daughter, Melanie Nichole Roussell. Later that year, the family returned to New Orleans and Joan began the next phase of her life as a wife, mother, and educator.

In New Orleans, Joan went back to school with her two teenage sons and a toddler at home. She obtained her Master’s Degree in adapted physical education, so that she could begin a new chapter of her career teaching children with special needs. She went on to run the Special Olympics for the New Orleans Public Schools, and to manage a team of teachers who also became lifelong friends.

Joan was the life of any party. She loved to dance, and her laugh could be heard yards away. She recreated a community of friends in every city and town she lived. She was a great friend, always there to support those she loved, and offer a good laugh to her friends when needed.

Over the years, Norward’s career as an educator took the family to both Selma and Tuskegee, Alabama. In 1997, after Melanie graduated high school, Joan retired and the couple returned to New Orleans, where Joan became a full time caregiver for her parents. Her parents died in 2001, and following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Joan and Norward returned to Selma where they became active members of their church and community. Joan was a member of the Entre Nous Club, the New Orleans and Selma chapters of the Links, Incorporated, and was a proud Eucharistic Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church. Joan remained in Selma, cared for by her family, until her death.

Joan is survived by her sister, Francine Verrett; brother-in-law, Norman (Dorothy) Roussell; and sister-in-law, Ada Anderson; two sons, Eric (Mina) Rousell and Norman (Dionne) Roussell; and daughter, Melanie (Ronald) Newman.

She is also survived by five grandchildren, Eric Jr., Victor Dreux, Reagan Roussell, and Malcolm and Camille Newman; three nieces, Vanessa Roussell, Cheryl Anderson, and Erica Smith; two nephews, Dr. Michael (Ellie) Roussell and Paul Smith; two great-nieces, Mia Roussell and Nico Smith; and two great-nephews, Miles Smith and Marvis McCladdie. She is also remembered by her treasured cousins, Dardenella “Dottie” Rodriguez, Ianthia “Beauty” (Ernie) Cannon, Ann Guillory, and Lance (Mona) Williams.

Funeral Mass will be held Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 11 a.m. at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic, 309 Washington St., Selma, AL. Randall Miller Funeral Service and Crematory directing. Entombment will be Tuesday, February 11, 2025 in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 4000 Norman Mayer Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70122.