Health insurance broker Harold A. Pesses rites slated for Sunday
HAROLD ALTON PESSES, a health insurance broker, and a member of two different congregations who blurred the lines between the Reform and Orthodox branches of Judaism, died early on the morning of, August 29, 2025 from complications of gastric cancer. He was 71.
HAROLD A. PESSES
A native and lifelong member of the New Orleans Jewish community, Pesses was a longtime member and former president from 2020 – 2022 of Congregation Beth Israel, the Lakeview synagogue that was destroyed 20 years ago by Hurricane Katrina’s landfall and the failure of the levees and drainage canals that led into Lake Pontchartrain.
Additionally, he was an instrumental member of Congregation Gates of Prayer in Metairie, the Reform temple that housed the displaced Orthodox synagogue in one of its rear rooms during a six-year recovery period after the hurricane. Following a capital campaign, Congregation Beth Israel dedicated a new building on an adjacent plot to Gates of Prayer in 2012.
He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School and the University of New Orleans, majoring in Business (Insurance). He began his own business, Care Insurance Services (Health Care Brokerage) in 1979, a firm which still exists today.
Pesses had a “presidential personality.” If he was a member of an organization, he ultimately became president. In addition to his stint as Beth Israel president, he was president of the local chapter of AZA, the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization; president of Hillel at LSU ; president of the Brotherhood at Congregation Gates of Prayer Synagogue; and president of the International B’nai B’rith Bowling Association.
Besides bowling, he loved the theater, attending shows regularly at the Saenger and Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts. More importantly, he loved his family and friends. Spending time with nieces and nephews and their children was especially important. Dining out with friends was his other favorite past time. Staying connected to friends through food (especially rib eye steaks and typical New Orleans food) was what he enjoyed, and do not forget his “chocolate soup” snowballs! He taught his family the value of love and extended that to his community.
Pesses was a teacher at the Religious School at Congregation Gates of Prayer for many years at various grade levels. His style of teaching endeared him to many of his students and he also helped some of them prepare for their bar or bat mitzvahs. He considered himself a “communicator,” finding ways to communicate ideas so others could understand and benefit.
Last year, the extended Pesses family purchased a Torah scroll for Beth Israel intended to take the place of one of the two scrolls donated to the synagogue following the storm’s passing, which had been determined to no longer be kosher.
He is survived by his wife Janet, his children Danny, Nancy and Sam (Becca); and his siblings, sister Marilyn Kay (Martin) and brother Leon Pesses (Debbie).
Relatives and friends attended services on Sunday, August 31, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. Gates of Prayer Senior Rabbi David Gerber and Chabad of Metairie Rabbi Yossie Nemes co-officiated.
Following the service, the procession passed in tribute past Congregation Beth Israel. The Torah scroll donated by the Pesses family was on display to the procession, which then moved to the (Old) Beth Israel Cemetery, 4321 Frenchmen Street, where a graveside service was conducted.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, Congregation Beth Israel, Congregation Gates of Prayer, or the charity of your choice.
