Obituary of Peter Frank Liberto

Peter Frank Liberto, a longtime corporate trial attorney in New Orleans, died December 18, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C., after a long battle with dementia. He was 74.

Frank was born in Shreveport, La., to Sam and Mary Liberto. He graduated salutatorian from Jesuit High School in 1963. He graduated with a degree in physics from Loyola University in New Orleans in 1967.  He received his J.D. from New York University in 1970, and he was a Root Tilden scholar. Frank began practicing law in New York and in New Orleans. He married Rose Robinson in New Orleans in 1974 and the couple raised four children together.

Frank was an accomplished civil attorney. Over his career, he both sued and defended companies, including Shell Oil, for many years. He won many civil victories, and was part of a team that successfully argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court for American Express.

Frank was active in the Catholic Church, and served as a Eucharistic minister at St. Dominic in New Orleans. He also attended St. Joseph in Shreveport and St. Mark outside of Charlotte, N.C. He enjoyed taking daily walks, attending daily Mass, and giving out sweets and toys to anyone who would take them. He possessed a keen, wry wit that he was more than willing to contribute to nearly any occasion.

Frank was one of thousands of survivors of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. He weathered the floodwaters, holed up in the second story of the family home, which was inundated with more than 12 feet of water. After his rescue, he made his way back to Shreveport, and lived there with his brother Carl Liberto for several years after the storm.

Frank was diagnosed with dementia in early 2011 and lived for many years at White Oak Manor nursing home in Charlotte, where he was known for his love of walking the halls, delivering candy.

Frank was predeceased by his brother Carl of Shreveport.

Frank is survived by brothers Sam Liberto of Washington, D.C., and Pat Liberto in Venice, Calif., and children Jennifer Liberto of Washington, D.C., and David Liberto, Shannon Liberto and Katy Janssen, all of Charlotte. He is also survived by ex-wife Rose Robinson Liberto of Charlotte and nine grandchildren.

Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, December 21, 2019, at St. Mark Catholic Church in Huntersville, N.C. and the interment at Forest Lawn East cemetery in Matthews, N.C. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Catholic Extension, which helps rural Catholic communities.