Karen Kersting, who lobbied Congress for money to restore New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina’s devastation and renovated houses and a World War II boat, died Wednesday at Ochsner Medical Center. She was 68.
She died after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer, her sister Sandy Rabatin said.
In New Orleans, her home for about 40 years, Kersting seemed to be everywhere, not only at the properties she was managing and renovating but also as a volunteer for GiGi’s Playhouse, which offers programs for people with Down syndrome and their families; Bridge House, which treats people with alcoholism and narcotics problems; and Carrollton Rotary…