Inez Ernestine Burguières
August 28, 1892 - February 2, 1965
Born in August 1892, Inez was the youngest child of Jules M. Burguières and the only child of Jules and his second wife, Ida. After Jules' death in 1899, Inez was raised as an only child by her mother, who set up residence in a home in New Orleans' Garden District.
Inez attended the Academy of Sacred Heart in New Orleans, where she was one of the school's first boarders. Her mother often traveled to Europe to seek antiques for the antiques store she had established in the French Quarter. Inez traveled with her mother on some of these expeditions. At one point, she lived in Europe and attended schools in Switzerland.
Inez loved animals, especially horses and dogs. Although Momus asked her in 1913 to be Queen of the organization's Mardi Gras ball, she politely declined, telling her mother she would rather have a new horse.
Inez married Philip Huddleston Williams on August 31, 1915. The marriage was celebrated in Harbor Springs, Michigan at the summer home of her aunt, Leila Broussard Corbin. Philip did not want children and Inez did, so the couple divorced. The marriage was later annulled.
In 1926, Inez married Dunbar Leopold Christ in New York, New York and they settled in New Orleans. They were blessed with three daughters. Throughout her daughters' childhoods, and sometimes at their request, Inez ensured their home had plenty of animals, including: dogs (Airedale Terriers, Schnauzers, a Dachshund and a Collie), parakeets, and a horse. In addition to caring for her family and, later, her mother, Inez enjoyed cooking, knitting, reading, and playing Mahjong and Bridge.
Inez was in the Carnival Court of Rex in 1911. She volunteered as a member of the Women's Auxiliary of the Charity Hospital of Louisiana in New Orleans beginning in 1915, and was a member of The Junior League of New Orleans and several garden clubs.
Dunbar Leophold Christ
September 23, 1896 - February 1, 1960
Dunbar "Dunnie" Christ, the only son of Emile Christ and Alice Dunbar, worked for many years in the stock and bond business in New Orleans, as had his father and grandfather. Leopold Christ, Dunnie's grandfather, immigrated to New Orleans from Baden Baden, Germany at the age of 15, and he became involved in the cotton industry, eventually becoming a pioneer cotton broker and one of the founders of the New Orleans Cotton Exchange. Dunnie's maternal grandfather, Francis B. Dunbar, and Francis' brother, George H. Dunbar, were pioneers in the canning of shrimp and oysters along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
A descendant of several old families of New Orleans, and a native of New Orleans himself, Dunnie attended Rugby Academy and Tulane University, where he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He served as a naval officer during World War I.
Dunnie continued in the Christ family's tradition, working as a stockbroker, even after he, Inez and their children, moved to Pass Christian, Mississippi, in the 1930s. He drove daily to New Orleans, where he worked for Merrill Lynch.
Dunnie is remembered not only as a loving husband and devoted father, but also as a charismatic man who naturally drew people to him. He was easygoing, personable, and had a sense of humor. In his free time, Dunnie enjoyed sailing, boating, fishing, swimming, hunting and golf. The owner of two boats, he would go boating and fishing on the weekends, often taking his daughters with him. He crewed in some of the races held by the Pass Christian Yacht Club.
Dunnie was a member of the Boston Club of New Orleans, the Louisiana Club, the New Orleans Country Club and several Carnival organizations. He was a member of the Pass Christian Yacht Club and the Pass Christian Isles Golf Club.
Children
Inez and Dunbar had three children.
- Helen Dunbar Christ
- Ernestine Inez "Kiki" Christ
- Marion Moore Christ
