George B. Mowad
Encyclopedia
George B. Mowad was a physician
and real estate
developer who served from 1972 to 1992 as the mayor
of Oakdale
in Allen Parish
, Louisiana
.
descent, Mowad was born in Oakdale to Joe S. Mowad (1899–1984) and Mary Mowad (1902–1993). He graduated from Oakdale High School and attended Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge
. He graduated in 1955 from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans.
From 1957 to 1958, he was a member of the Medical Corps of the United States Air Force
. Upon his discharge from the military at the rank of major, he began his residency in family practice at Charity Hospital in Lafayette
, Louisiana, which he completed in 1959. In January 1960, Mowad launched his practice in Oakdale.
, which required the need for more housing in the community. At the time the facility was completed in 1985, it was the largest federal institution of its kind in the United States. Among its well-known inmates were former Governor Edwin Washington Edwards and former Louisiana Secretary of State James H. "Jim" Brown.
In April 1981, Mowad ordered a curfew
from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in Oakdale after a white police officer and two African American
men were wounded by shotgun pellets. Riot-equipped officers from the Louisiana State Police provided assistance to quell potential further disorder. The junior high school and Oakdale High School were closed for a day.
During his long tenure as mayor, Dr. Mowad was instrumental in procuring more than $30 million in federal and state grants to construct sixteen new public facilities, including a new City Hall, city court, four parks, two community centers, four industrial buildings, a library, a wellness center, and two fire stations.
, a Catholic men's service organization. As chief of the medical staff at Oakdale Community Hospital, he was a member of the Allen Parish Medical Society, the Louisiana State Medical Society, the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Medical Association
.
During his career, Mowad received the Oakdale Civic Service Award and was named Louisiana's Family Doctor of the Year. He garnered the Humanity Award from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles
, Louisiana
.
on U.S. Route 165
between Forest Hill
and Woodworth
. He was headed south between Woodworth and Forest Hill when his car crossed the center line and crashed head-on into a pickup truck driven by Teri R. Slaughter (1979–2000) of Glenmora
in south Rapides Parish, who died thereafter of her wounds in a hospital in Alexandria
, Louisiana.
At the time of his death, Mowad, a Democrat
, was campaigning to regain the mayor's office after an eight-year absence. He was a candidate in the October 7, 2000, nonpartisan blanket primary against two-term incumbent Mayor Bobby Abrusley and Wilburn "J. R." Coker, both also Democrats. Because of Mowad's death, the election was postponed to coincide with the regular general election
on November 7, in which Abrusley defeated Coker, 77-23 percent. In his last reelection in 1988, Mowad had been unopposed.
Mowad was married to the former Dolores Jean Massad, and the couple had six children: sons, Mark Joseph Mowad of Baton Rouge and Thomas Anthony Mowad (1973–2011) of Wichita
, Kansas
; daughters, Ann Mowad Montanio of Woodworth, Judy Mowad Mahtook of Lafayette, Mary Denise Mowad Guiteau (formerly Mary Howell) of Amite, Louisiana, and Karen Mowad Steven of Wichita, Kansas. Mowad was also survived by two sisters, Moonlee M. Karam and Rosaliee M. Karam, both of Oakdale; and nine grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother, Anthony P. Mowad (1926–1985).
A rosary
was recited in the Mowad Civic Center in Oakdale, named for the former mayor. Services were held on September 21, 2000, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Mowad had donated the five-acre site where his church building stands. Interment was at the church cemetery in Oakdale.
In 2005, the Louisiana State Legislature
named a portion of Highway 10
as the "George B. Mowad Memorial Highway." Numerous businesses of all kinds are located on the Mowad Highway.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
developer who served from 1972 to 1992 as the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Oakdale
Oakdale, Louisiana
Oakdale is a small city in Allen Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,137 at the 2000 census.Oakdale was founded as "Dunnsville" by William T. Dunn...
in Allen Parish
Allen Parish, Louisiana
Allen Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Oberlin. As of the 2000 census, the population was 25,440. Allen Parish is in southwestern Louisiana, southwest of Alexandria....
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
Background
Of LebaneseLebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
descent, Mowad was born in Oakdale to Joe S. Mowad (1899–1984) and Mary Mowad (1902–1993). He graduated from Oakdale High School and attended Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
. He graduated in 1955 from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans.
From 1957 to 1958, he was a member of the Medical Corps of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Upon his discharge from the military at the rank of major, he began his residency in family practice at Charity Hospital in Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
, Louisiana, which he completed in 1959. In January 1960, Mowad launched his practice in Oakdale.
Mayoral service
From 1962 to 1972, Mowad developed three subdivisions and three business centers in Oakdale. After he became mayor, he developed six more subdivisions and business centers. He worked to secure the location in Oakdale of the federal correctional center of the United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
, which required the need for more housing in the community. At the time the facility was completed in 1985, it was the largest federal institution of its kind in the United States. Among its well-known inmates were former Governor Edwin Washington Edwards and former Louisiana Secretary of State James H. "Jim" Brown.
In April 1981, Mowad ordered a curfew
Curfew
A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in Oakdale after a white police officer and two African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
men were wounded by shotgun pellets. Riot-equipped officers from the Louisiana State Police provided assistance to quell potential further disorder. The junior high school and Oakdale High School were closed for a day.
During his long tenure as mayor, Dr. Mowad was instrumental in procuring more than $30 million in federal and state grants to construct sixteen new public facilities, including a new City Hall, city court, four parks, two community centers, four industrial buildings, a library, a wellness center, and two fire stations.
Associations and awards
Mowad was a president of the Louisiana Municipal Association. He also organized and served as past president of the Oakdale High School Alumni Association, and was past president of the Oakdale Lions Club, Oakdale Athletic Association, and the Oakdale chapter of the Knights of ColumbusKnights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
, a Catholic men's service organization. As chief of the medical staff at Oakdale Community Hospital, he was a member of the Allen Parish Medical Society, the Louisiana State Medical Society, the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
.
During his career, Mowad received the Oakdale Civic Service Award and was named Louisiana's Family Doctor of the Year. He garnered the Humanity Award from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles , is a particular church located in southwest Louisiana . It is a fairly new diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, being founded on January 29, 1980. It is suffragan to the Archdiocese of New Orleans.The diocese is administered from the city of Lake...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
Death and legacy
Mowad died in an automobile accident in Rapides ParishRapides Parish, Louisiana
-Military Installations:*Camp Beauregard *Esler Airfield *England Air Force Base *Camp Claiborne *Camp Livingston -Demographics:...
on U.S. Route 165
U.S. Route 165
U.S. Route 165 is a north–south United States highway spur of U.S. Highway 65. It currently runs for 412 miles from U.S. Route 90 in Iowa, Louisiana north to U.S. Highway 70 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The route passes through the states of Arkansas and Louisiana. It passes through the...
between Forest Hill
Forest Hill, Louisiana
Forest Hill is a village in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 456 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Forest Hill is located at ....
and Woodworth
Woodworth, Louisiana
Woodworth is a town in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,080 at the 2000 census....
. He was headed south between Woodworth and Forest Hill when his car crossed the center line and crashed head-on into a pickup truck driven by Teri R. Slaughter (1979–2000) of Glenmora
Glenmora, Louisiana
Glenmora is a town in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,558 at the 2000 census....
in south Rapides Parish, who died thereafter of her wounds in a hospital in Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, Louisiana.
At the time of his death, Mowad, a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, was campaigning to regain the mayor's office after an eight-year absence. He was a candidate in the October 7, 2000, nonpartisan blanket primary against two-term incumbent Mayor Bobby Abrusley and Wilburn "J. R." Coker, both also Democrats. Because of Mowad's death, the election was postponed to coincide with the regular general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
on November 7, in which Abrusley defeated Coker, 77-23 percent. In his last reelection in 1988, Mowad had been unopposed.
Mowad was married to the former Dolores Jean Massad, and the couple had six children: sons, Mark Joseph Mowad of Baton Rouge and Thomas Anthony Mowad (1973–2011) of Wichita
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
; daughters, Ann Mowad Montanio of Woodworth, Judy Mowad Mahtook of Lafayette, Mary Denise Mowad Guiteau (formerly Mary Howell) of Amite, Louisiana, and Karen Mowad Steven of Wichita, Kansas. Mowad was also survived by two sisters, Moonlee M. Karam and Rosaliee M. Karam, both of Oakdale; and nine grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother, Anthony P. Mowad (1926–1985).
A rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
was recited in the Mowad Civic Center in Oakdale, named for the former mayor. Services were held on September 21, 2000, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Mowad had donated the five-acre site where his church building stands. Interment was at the church cemetery in Oakdale.
In 2005, the Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
named a portion of Highway 10
Louisiana Highway 10
Louisiana Highway 10 is a state highway in south-central Louisiana. It runs from west to east for . The western terminus is at the intersection of U.S. Route 171 in Pickering, Louisiana in Vernon Parish near Fort Polk and the eastern terminus is in Bogalusa at Pearl River and the Louisiana line...
as the "George B. Mowad Memorial Highway." Numerous businesses of all kinds are located on the Mowad Highway.