New Orleans woman killed by lightning loved city, culture

NEW ORLEANS, LA (WVUE) - Friends and family mourn the loss of a New Orleans woman killed by lightning. It happened over the weekend at the T-Bois Blues Festival in Larose.

Jacqui Stavis loved everything about New Orleans, especially the music.

"She heard everything she could always hear. She just embraced our culture so much," said Bethany Bultman, co-founding director of the New Orleans Muscians' Clinic and Assistance Foundation.

Stavis moved here a few years ago and started volunteering as a massage therapist for the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic, a non-profit group that provides healthcare for 2,500 musicians, performers and those in the service industry.

"She had gone to Wesleyan College where she had met her boyfriend, but from the time I first met her she was attracted to New Orleans and she was the kind of person I always thought I will leave New Orleans in better hands because these are the kind of people who this is their spiritual homeland. They love it, they are going to make New Orleans a great place," said Bultman.

But Stavis' life came to a tragic end over the weekend after she was struck by lightning. The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office said two other women were injured, and a dog that was with them also died.

"It's hard to imagine that when I am out listening to music I'm not going to turn and have her right there," said Bultman.

Bultman plans to warn others about the dangers of lightning as she remembers her friend, who at only 28 years old had already made a difference in the city she loved so much.

"What we want to do at the New Orleans Muscians' Clinic is to make sure that anyone who goes to festivals, who works at festivals, who performs at festivals is mindful of the dangers of lightning," said Bultman.

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