Ralph Falsetta

Ralph Joseph Falsetta, known as Big Ralph Falsetta (April 25, 1914 May 13, 1999),[1] was a businessman from his native Donaldsonville in Ascension Parish near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who from 1975 to 1976 represented District 18 as a Democrat in the Louisiana State Senate.[2]

Ralph Joseph Falsetta
Louisiana State Senator for District 18 (parts of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes)
In office
1975–1976
Preceded byLouis Lambert
Succeeded byJoe Sevario
Personal details
Born(1914-08-25)August 25, 1914
Donaldsonville
Ascension Parish
Louisiana, USA
DiedMay 13, 1999(1999-05-13) (aged 84)
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Solange Simoneaux Falsetta
ChildrenRaphael Joseph "Rip" Falsetta

Rosalyn F. Griffin

Marilyn F. Diez
ParentsAnthony "Tony" and Rosa Regira Falsetta
ResidenceDonaldsonville, Louisiana
OccupationBusinessman

Background

Falsetta was the son of Anthony "Tony" Falsetta (1885-1963)[3] and the former Rosa Regira (1890-1966), both natives of Italy.[1] Tony Falsetta founded the Town and Country Club in Donaldsonville, where Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Irma Thomas often played during the 1950s.[4]

Ralph Falsetta and his wife, the former Solange Simoneaux (1911-1996), had three children, Raphael Anthony "Rip" Falsetta (1943-2009); Rosalyn F. Griffin, the widow of Charles Griffin; and Marilyn F. Diez and husband, Ronald.

Public career

Falsetta was the mayor of historic Donaldsonville,[3] which was from 1829 to 1831 the Louisiana state capital. In 1981, as the newly elected mayor, Falsetta appointed a bond committee and worked to extend the Donaldsonville city limits to accommodate Sam Walton's Wal-Mart, which two years later opened a 45,000-square-foot store built outside the corporate limits. Several local merchants, a department store owner and a mortician-businessman, E. J. Ourso, the benefactor of the Louisiana State University E. J. Ourso College of Business, fought against the bonds for Wal-Mart construction. When Falsetta and Ourso appeared before the Louisiana Bond Commission, the two men nearly came to a physical confrontation until chairman B. B. "Sixty" Rayburn of Bogalusa, a member of the state Senate, admonished the two to "wait till you get back to Donaldsonville. The folks down there might enjoy it."[5]

Falsetta filled the year remaining in the state Senate term of Louis Lambert, a Baton Rouge Democrat who was elected to the Louisiana Public Service Commission.[2]

The Falsettas, who died three years apart, are interred at the Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Church Cemetery in Donaldsonville.[3]

References

  1. "Ralph Joseph Falsetta". searchancestry.com. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  2. "Membership in the Louisiana State Senate since 1880:Ascension Parish" (PDF). senate.la.gov. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. "Ralph "Big Ralph" Falsetta". findagrave.com. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  4. "Smiley: Losing the Race (Music Makers section)". Baton Rouge Advocate. July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  5. Bob Ortega (The Wall Street Journal) (1998). In Sam We Trust: The Untold Story of Sam Walton and How Wal-Mart Is Devouring the World. Times Books. pp. 168–169. ISBN 0-7494-3177-6. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
Preceded by
Louis Lambert
Louisiana State Senator for District 18
(Ascension, Livingston, and St. James parishes)

Ralph Joseph Falsetta
19751976

Succeeded by
Joe Sevario
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