Martin de Laureal Sr., 73, a retired businessman, prominent civic leader and community volunteer, was killed in a helicopter crash Saturday morning in southwest Alaska where he was on a fishing trip with friends.
According to Alaska State Troopers, the Bell 206B helicopter carrying de Laureal, three passengers and the pilot crashed into the Naknek River shortly after taking off from King Salmon Airport at about 9:30 a.m. De Laureal was the only fatality.
The cause of the crash is unclear, but local media reports said fog may have reduced visibility during takeoff, and investigators would look into weather as one of the causes, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board’s regional office in Alaska said.
At the time of the accident, Mr. De Laurial was in Alaska with new friends he had met in North Carolina, where he and his wife, Evelyn, own a home, said Benton Smallpage, a longtime friend.
“He was a larger-than-life person,” said Smallpage, who knew de Lauréal since their college days. “He was a friend to everyone he met.”
De Laurial began his career at Metairie-based Stewart Enterprises, where he rose to senior executive position, overseeing investor relations and helping grow the company into the second-largest provider of funeral and cemetery products in the country. He stayed on with the company for several years after it was acquired by Houston-based Service Corporation International in 2013, before retiring.
“He was one of the most humble, unassuming people with a warm, approachable personality,” said Rafael Goyeneche, chairman of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, where de Lauréal once served as commissioner and chairman. “When he walked into a room, it lit up and everyone responded to his personality.”
Mr. de Lauréal was active in several civic and charitable organizations. He served on the Metropolitan Crime Commission for over 10 years, including four as its chairman, and was active in rebuilding the city’s public schools in the years following Hurricane Katrina.
“He was a great leader and full of energy,” Goyeneche said. “He loved traveling and trying new things. He was always giving his all.”
He was also known for his love of his native New Orleans, where he raised his family and where his three adult sons and their families now live.
He is survived by his wife, Evelyn, his sons Martin de Lauréal Jr. (president of First Horizon Advisors), David de Lauréal and Jonathan de Lauréal and their spouses, and several grandchildren.
Arrangements are pending.