Arabella Ochiltree Bancroft Cann

Arabella Ochiltree Bancroft Cann, wife of Lt. Colonel W. Derwood Cann, Jr., former mayor of Monroe, Louisiana, and daughter of Louisiana industrialist, T. O. Bancroft, Sr., died Monday, July 24, 2023 at her residence in Monroe.

Mrs. Cann was born September 15, 1929, in Monroe, Louisiana and attended Georgia Tucker Elementary School, Ouachita Parish High School and graduated from The Hockaday School, Dallas, Texas.  She matriculated at Louisiana State University where she met and married her first husband, Eugene Russell Nash, and resided in Los Angeles, California. 

Upon returning to Monroe, Mrs. Cann married William Derwood Cann, Jr. and was wed for fifty-five years until his death on July 12, 2010.

Mrs. Cann was preceded in death by her father, T. O. Bancroft, Sr., mother, Vada Speed Bancroft, brother, T. O. Bancroft, Jr., first husband, Eugene Russell Nash, and second husband, Lt. Colonel William Derwood Cann, Jr.  She is survived by her brother, Frederic Speed Bancroft, son, Thomas Cuendet Nash, D.D.S. (Rebecca), and daughters, Vada Speed Cann Montgomery (Eugene) and Arabella Bancroft Cann, II along with her grandchildren, Caroline Nash Plaisance, Lauren Caldwell Nash, and Arabella Montgomery Moore (James). She is also survived by five great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Cann was a devoted daughter, sister, mother, and grandmother that loved her family and cherished the memories of a life well lived.  She was a stockholder of Bancroft Bag, Inc. and grateful for its accomplishments and contributions to the community over the last one hundred years of operation.

The family would like to thank Mrs. Cann’s caregivers --- Jacqueline Bass, Kathy Beshears, Veronica Mason, Sheila Williams, Linda Credit, Sally Berry, Sally Gaines, Linda Faye Robinson, Heart of Hospice, J. Dean Stockstill, M.D., and Robert E. Spatafora, D.D.S --- for their love and devotion to her needs during the last years of her life.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 29, 2023, 11:00 A.M. with visitation beginning 10:30 A.M. at the Chapel Mausoleum, Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery, 623 U.S. Highway 80, Monroe, Louisiana 71203, with The Reverend Canon Gregg Riley officiating.

In lieu of flowers, memorials via check or Venmo may be made to The Brighton School, 12108 Parkmeadow Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA  70816 or Grace Episcopal Church, 405 Glenmar Avenue, Monroe, LA  71201.