George B. Mowad

George B. Mowad (February 5, 1932 - September 18, 2000) was an American physician and real estate developer who served from 1972 to 1992 as the mayor of Oakdale in Allen Parish, Louisiana.
Background
Of Lebanese descent, Mowad was born in Oakdale to Joe S. Mowad (1899-1984) and Mary Mowad (1902-1993).
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.
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 International, Oakdale Athletic Association, and the Oakdale chapter of the Knights of 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. 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. 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).<ref name=obit/>
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.<ref name=obit/>
In 2005, the Louisiana State Legislature named a portion of Highway 10 as the "George B. Mowad Memorial Highway."<ref name=legis/> Numerous businesses of all kinds are located on the Mowad Highway.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu