Mary Ann Valentino
| Mary Ann Glorioso Valentino
(New Orleans hotelier: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | March 21, 1921 New Orleans, Louisiana | ||
| Died | February 24, 2022 (aged 100) New Orleans Resting place: | ||
| Spouse | Anthony Joseph Valentino (married 55 years until his death in 1999) | ||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||
Mary Ann Glorioso Valentino (March 21, 1921 – February 24, 2022) was the matriarch of a hotel-owning family who brought double-decker tourist buses to her native New Orleans, Louisiana.
Business life
She was the chairperson of the board of Valentino New Orleans Hotels, which operates seven establishments, including the Place d'Armes Hotel, French Market Inn, the Prince Conti Hotel, the Hôtel St Marie, the Lafayette Hotel, the Brakeman Hotel, and the Alder Hotel. She presided over every quarterly meeting of the company from 1987 until her death. She was planning for another session the month before what would have been her 101st birthday.[1]
In an interview with The New Orleans Times-Picayune, her son, Michael Valentino said that his mother "was very attuned to the creature comforts that people expect when they’re traveling." Through her many travels, she visited New York City and got the idea of establishing double-decker sightseeing buses in New Orleans. Thus came the fleet of bright red Hop On Hop Off buses are operated by City Sightseeing.[1]
Roman Catholic activities
A devout Roman Catholic, Mrs. Valentino was the only child of Angelo and Theresa Messina Glorioso She was active in the Catholic Foundation, St. Elizabeth's Guild, the Chef's Charity for Children, the Sophie Gumbel Guild, St. Michael's Special School, the Strive Center, and the Archdiocesan Spirituality Center, She assisted in fundraising for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Jesuit High School, and both of her alma maters, Ursuline Academy (Class of 1941) and Loyola University New Orleans, from which she graduated with a degree in music in 1945. She was also active in the Knights of Malta and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. She received scores of honors and awards, including the Catholic Foundation Award presentd to her in 2007 by Pope John Paul II. She also volunteered in the Vatican Pavilion for all 184 days of the 1984 World's Fair held in New Orleans. In her early years, she worked in the finance department at the Port of Embarkation during World War II, in which capacity she aided in routing soldiers to their various locations of service around the world.[2]
Death and family
She and her husband, Anthony Joseph Valentino, were married for fifty-five years until his death in 1999. The couple had seven children, Ann Valentino Fuselier, Warren Paul Valentino, Michael Charles Valentino, Stephen Anthony Valentino, Lisette Valentino Turpin, Debra Valentino Counce, and David Peter Valentino. The Valentinos are interred at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans.[2]