Skip to main content

Jeff Chauppetta, age 53, resident of St. Bernard Parish The first set of images are of the…

A man in a red bandana and black shirt stands beside a weathered statue of the Virgin Mary amid bare branches, with yellow sunflower decorations placed at its base.
Child's hand-drawn illustration in purple ink of a house with a brick-patterned roof, windows, and door, alongside a stick-figure family labeled with initials M, VJ, R, K, and H.
Hand-drawn sketch of a flooded building with a boat carrying people navigating between floors, one figure labeled "U.J." reaching toward a balcony while a family labeled "R.K.H.M." looks out from a window above.
Hand-drawn pen sketch on lined notebook paper of figures wading through wavy floodwater pulling bags, labeled with names including Rosalie, Michelle, Uncle Jeff, Heather, Katrina, and Kenneth.

Collection

Do You Know What it Means

Jeff Chauppetta, age 53, resident of St. Bernard Parish

The first set of images are of the Belair Cemetery, on the East side of the Mississippi in Plaquimines Parish. The cemetery once belonged to the Diamond family, who had a plantation home on the property adjacent to where the cemetery is. Is is said that slaves are buried there and also Jeff Chauppetta's grandfather, Salvadore Chaupetta. In 1980 Jeff Chauppetta visited the cemetery with his father to learn more about his grandfather's life. His grandfather's tomb was the only remaining one in the Belair Cemetery. In 2000 Jeff began cleaning up his grandfather's gravesite and served as the unofficial caretaker of the cemetery until Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005.

Jeff Chauppetta, age 53, resident of St. Bernard Parish

The first set of images are of the Belair Cemetery, on the East side of the Mississippi in Plaquimines Parish. The cemetery once belonged to the Diamond family, who had a plantation home on the property adjacent to where the cemetery is. Is is said that slaves are buried there and also Jeff Chauppetta's grandfather, Salvadore Chaupetta. In 1980 Jeff Chauppetta visited the cemetery with his father to learn more about his grandfather's life. His grandfather's tomb was the only remaining one in the Belair Cemetery. In 2000 Jeff began cleaning up his grandfather's gravesite and served as the unofficial caretaker of the cemetery until Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005.

Jeff Chauppetta, age 53, resident of St. Bernard Parish

The first set of images are of the Belair Cemetery, on the East side of the Mississippi in Plaquimines Parish. The cemetery once belonged to the Diamond family, who had a plantation home on the property adjacent to where the cemetery is. Is is said that slaves are buried there and also Jeff Chauppetta's grandfather, Salvadore Chaupetta. In 1980 Jeff Chauppetta visited the cemetery with his father to learn more about his grandfather's life. His grandfather's tomb was the only remaining one in the Belair Cemetery. In 2000 Jeff began cleaning up his grandfather's gravesite and served as the unofficial caretaker of the cemetery until Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005.

Jeff Chauppetta, age 53, resident of St. Bernard Parish

The first set of images are of the Belair Cemetery, on the East side of the Mississippi in Plaquimines Parish. The cemetery once belonged to the Diamond family, who had a plantation home on the property adjacent to where the cemetery is. Is is said that slaves are buried there and also Jeff Chauppetta's grandfather, Salvadore Chaupetta. In 1980 Jeff Chauppetta visited the cemetery with his father to learn more about his grandfather's life. His grandfather's tomb was the only remaining one in the Belair Cemetery. In 2000 Jeff began cleaning up his grandfather's gravesite and served as the unofficial caretaker of the cemetery until Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005.

Original title

Item 26107

Citation

“Jeff Chauppetta, age 53, resident of St. Bernard Parish The first set of images are of the…,” Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, accessed November 3, 2026, https://hurricanearchive.org/items/show/26107.