Melba Fay Foretich Gutierrez

Melba Fay Foretich Gutierrez, age 81, died March 25, 2010, in Dallas, Texas. She was born in Biloxi and lived there most of her life. Melba grew up in Biloxi on Delauney Street, in the house that was later relocated to the Biloxi Town Green as the Foretich House and subsequently destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. In 1947, she graduated from Biloxi High School, where she was a reporter and business manager for the Hi Tide newspaper, business manager for the Indian Echo yearbook, and a charter member of Quill and Scroll. After graduation, she worked for the Biloxi public schools administration before her marriage in 1950. She was a strong supporter of public libraries and often recalled the many happy hours she spent in the Biloxi library as a child during the Great Depression. In the 1960s and ‘70s, she was appointed to serve multiple terms on the Biloxi Library Board of Trustees. Melba was a loving homemaker and lifelong member of Nativity B.V.M. parish. She was also an excellent writer and had a keen interest in amateur photography. She loved to listen to music and was especially an avid fan of Frank Sinatra. She loved to gather with friends at her favorite place, Mary Mahoney’s Old French House in Biloxi. She will be remembered for her generous nature and unwavering kindness to all. She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Henry Slay Gutierrez, her parents, Leo Vincent Foretich and Charlotte “Lottie” Duggan Foretich, and her sisters, Lurline Lane and Beverly LeBeuf. A beloved mother and grandmother, Melba leaves behind four daughters, Charlotte Paige Gutierrez and husband, Gerald Blessey, of Biloxi, MS, Sybil Rose Sauls and husband, Jeffrey, of Ocean Springs, MS, Roxann Marie Dollins and husband, Michael, of Dallas, TX, Rachel Susan Gutierrez, of Dallas, TX and a son, Henry John Gutierrez, and partner, Corey Tiblier, of Biloxi, MS. Melba also is survived by eight grandchildren, Grace and Mary Blessey, Nadia Kovacevich, Caroline Kovacevich Rossi, Lana and Kendall Sauls, and Camille and Virginia Dollins. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Mass at 11:00 a.m., Monday, April 5, 2010 at Nativity B.V.M. Cathedral in Biloxi, MS where visitation will be from 10:00 am until Mass time. Burial will be in Southern Memorial Park. The family requests donations in her memory be made in lieu of flowers to Biloxi Libraries, 2141 Popps Ferry Rd., Biloxi, MS 39532; St. Vincent DePaul Society, 870 Howard Ave., Biloxi, MS 39530; or the Alzheimer’s Association, 1-800-272-3900. The Howard Avenue Chapel of Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Homes in Biloxi is in charge of arrangements.