'Mr. Phil' Gugliuzza, teacher and mentor to generations of New Orleans area students, dies at 85

Philip “Mr. Phil” Gugliuzza, a charismatic teacher whose joyfully infectious brand of leadership inspired generations of high school students, died April 11 at his Thibodaux home. He was 85. He died of throat cancer, said Michael Hollis, a friend and one of Gugliuzza’s many protégés. “He instilled upon everybody the qualities of a leader but treated everybody with kindness and love,” Hollis said. “He was a great leader. He wanted people to do their best. … He helped shape our entire lives.” Throughout his three-decade career in the Jefferson Parish...