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The DeLuca Group honors and remembers the late Dr. Gerald F. DeLuca (1938-
2018) through fellowship and giving. A native of McDonoughville, Dr. DeLuca was a Westbank
educational icon and academic prodigy who excelled in all things scholastic, including chemistry, physics, mathematics, English, Spanish, writing and school administration. He was a beloved member of Shaw’s 1962 founding faculty, who became Shaw’s Assistant Principal for Academic Affairs, Co-Principal in 1973-74 and later Provost of Our Lady of Holy Cross College in Algiers and a 2019 inductee into the Shaw Hall of Fame. He was a mentor, counselor, friend and role model who paid individualized attention to his students’ lives and contributed to their development into men.
The DeLuca Group strives to maintain Dr. DeLuca’s memory and legacy of love and
academic excellence at Archbishop Shaw High School through activities and donations, either
directly to the school in his name or through the Dr. Gerald F. DeLuca Academic Advancement
Fund, a separate component of the Archbishop Shaw High School Alumni Association, Inc.
501(c)(3). The account will receive and direct donations to Archbishop Shaw High School to fund:
–The Gerald F. DeLuca Academic Scholarships, awarded annually to one or more current Shaw students and incoming eighth-graders based on financial need, grades and standardized tests scores show his potential for academic excellence in math and science; the infrastructure and equipment needs of Shaw’s Gerald F. DeLuca Chemistry Lab, including the Forensic Chemistry Program; and an endowment to generate future proceeds to sustain and increase the DeLuca scholarship and chemistry lab, its equipment and instructional programs.
The DeLuca Group had a banner fund-raising year during 2021-22, obtaining $36,000 in donations. These funds have been used to pay for six Gerald F. DeLuca Academic Scholarships at Shaw for the 2022-23 school year and to begin a new endowment to sustain the DeLuca scholarships into the future.
In May 2022, the DeLuca Group awarded four scholarships to incoming eighth-graders and two scholarships to current Shaw students for the 2022-23 school year. The awards totaling $21,000 were based on demonstrated academic performance, standardized test scores in math and science, potential for academic success, character and financial need. The scholarships vary in amount from $2,000 to $5,000 apiece and have been applied to tuition costs and fees for each student during the 2023-23 school year.
The incoming eighth-grade DeLuca Scholarship winners are Ethan Dixon of St. Cletus School in Gretna and Corey Strong, Jacob Schultz and Tyer Louque of Immaculate Conception School in Marrero. The current Shaw students receiving scholarships were rising sophomore Carson Jeansonne of Terrytown and student leader Jayce LaCava of Marrero, who received for his final year at Shaw what we hope will be the first of annual future “Rising Senior” DeLuca Scholarships. The DeLuca Group has also reserved $5,000 in its alumni association bank account for a current seventh-grader from Gretna who is battling cancer. His scholarship will be awarded when he is ready to proceed to eighth grade at Shaw.
The remaining $10,000 was deposited into the DeLuca Scholarships component of the newly established Saint John Bosco Salesian Endowment, administered by the Catholic Community Foundation for the benefit of Archbishop Shaw High School and its students. The DeLuca Group hopes to make annual additional deposits to this endowment fund or to find a major donor so that the ultimate total of this endowment will be at least $150,000. Interest on that amount should fund a DeLuca Academic Scholarship in the amount of $5,000 per year into the future.
The Alumni Association and Shaw High School express their sincerest thanks to all who made this total of $36,000 in donations during 2021-22 to our efforts to fund the DeLuca Academic Scholarships. 2021-22 donors included Willie Marque ’72, Mike Paternostro ’73, Marque’s Food Distributors, Inc., Jackie Berthelot ’72,Pat Pereira ’73, Ray Lamy ’73, Terry Talamo ’73, John Randazzo ’73, Jason Brown ‘92, Rene Faucheux ’73, Joe Toomy ’66, Dr. Mike Adams ’73, Jay Wilkinson ’73, Tom Cortazzo ‘80Steve Wilkinson ’77, Entergy Corp., Mark Savoie ’73, Gus Crammond ’73, Cindy Miller (friend), James Breland (friend), the Rotary Club of the West Bank, the Gretna Community Association, Inc. Foundation, Tim Terrebonne ’70 and Ken Parks ’72.
Friends and alumni who want to make contributions or join the DeLuca Group in its activities should contact Jackie Berthelot ’72 at jberthelot1028@aol.com or Jay Wilkinson ’73 at jayw4918@icloud.com.
Copyright © 2024 Archbishop Shaw Alumni Association - All Rights Reserved.
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