Former longtime T-P horseracing scribe Bob Fortus dies at 69

Bob Fortus, a longtime Times-Picayune writer who won national awards for his painstaking coverage of horse racing in New Orleans over three decades, died Tuesday of complications of injuries he suffered when a car struck him on March 29. Fortus, who died in Capitol House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Baton Rouge, was 69.

Fortus, who had walked with a cane after surgery two years ago to remove a benign tumor from his spine, was hit when he was crossing North Lopez Street at Grand Route St. John, police said.

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Ronnie Virgets, distinct New Orleans voice and storyteller, dies at 77

 

Ronnie Virgets, a thoroughly rounded, freewheeling writer who could hold forth in a distinctive New Orleans accent on such diverse topics as modern literature, horse racing and the foibles of his fellow citizens, died Monday night (May 20) at Ormond Nursing Home in Destrehan. He was 77.

The cause of death has not been determined, said Lynne Jensen, his longtime companion.

Mr. Virgets, awarded for his writing and television work, never shed the distinctive accent of his native 3rd Ward. “He was a walking, talking paradox,” Jensen said. “He was a genius y’at. How much more of a paradox can you get?”

 

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