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The streets of New Orleans have lost a rhythm,
but his spirit will forever echo through the Quarter.
A farewell for Windex Pete, beloved French Quarter legend
1951 - 2025
Windex Pete, known to many as the washboard man of the French Quarter, passed away on September 23, 2025 at the age of 74. He was a friend, a fixture, a familiar face. He was a rhythm in the heart of New Orleans. This site was created to honor his memory and give him a proper farewell. Thank you to all the friends of Pete who helped make that happen.Rest easy, Pete.
We'll never forget you.
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FAQ
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Who was Wilbert “Windex Pete” Pritchett?
Wilbert “Windex Pete” Pritchett was known around New Orleans as a street musician/percussionist who played the washboard. He was a notable character in the French Quarter and Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans.
Do you know what happened to Pete?
Not exactly. He had been living in a nursing center in Franklinton, Louisiana. From what they were able to share (HIPPA Laws), he was found unresponsive in his nursing home bed, and his blood pressure was really low. He was taken to Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge, where he was placed on a ventilator for a couple of days, but he never recovered.Somehow, someone, somewhere was told, “If anything happens, call this number.” That number belonged to his long-time friend, Jack, who got a call at 1:30 in the morning on September 23, 2025 with news of Pete's passing.The hospital, coroner's office, and Louisiana State Police searched unsuccessfully for any relatives of Pete, and so, given that fact, they said he would be considered abandoned. Jack and other friends of Pete knew that wasn't true—he had lots of friends, thousands probably, and they would see to it that he got a proper burial and was treated with the dignity and respect he deserved. He was a friend, he was a human being, and there were many, many people who cared about him.After searching for several weeks for his family, Pete was finally allowed to be released to his friend, Jack, in order to begin coordinating funeral arrangements.
Where is Pete buried?
At the end of fundraising efforts, Pete was buried at Resting Place Funeral Home in Baton Rouge.We had hopes of getting Pete back to New Orleans for his final resting place, but weren't able to raise quite enough to do it. The people at Resting Place Funeral Home were so supportive as we tried to secure funds for a burial plot near Pete's home, so we felt very confident they would take good care of him there.Thank you to everyone who made a donation. We couldn't have done it without the generous friends of Pete. It would have meant the world to him.Reference documents:
Quote for cremation services
Quote for funeral services
Are you still accepting donations?
We are no longer accepting donations for Pete's memorial. However, the New Orleans Mission is always in need of help for the homeless population of New Orleans. Donation links here now forward to their website.
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Updates
April 7, 2026Hello, fellow friends of Pete. We wanted to post an update (and right near Pete's birthday). We received this photo of Pete's headstone from Resting Place Funeral Home.
Hopefully, we've done you proud, Pete. You will be missed. Happy early birthday, friend.
January 27, 2025Fellow friends of Pete, we wanted to post an update on Pete's burial at Resting Place Funeral Home in Baton Rouge. We have the final invoice for services attached below, and the funeral director there said he will send us a video of his final resting place. As we mentioned last post, if you find yourself in or near Baton Rouge, Pete would love and welcome your visit.Thank you for your support with this fundraiser. We couldn't have done it without you.Jack and Amber,
Fellow friends of PeteP.S. A big thank-you to the folks at Resting Place Funeral Home in Baton Rouge, too, who've been so helpful and patient as we've worked to arrange things for Pete.
Reference document:
Quote for final services
January 20, 2025Fellow friends of Pete, we wanted to let you know that we've decided to end the fundraising campaign on Pete's behalf and move forward with his burial at Resting Place Funeral Home in Baton Rouge.We had hopes of getting Pete back to New Orleans for his final resting place, but haven't been able to raise quite enough to do it. The people at Resting Place Funeral Home have been so supportive as we tried to secure funds for a burial plot near Pete's home, and we feel very confident they'll take good care of him there.Our plan is to leave this site up indefinitely, in memory of Pete, and in case any other memories and photos are shared with us over time—and should you ever find yourself in or near Baton Rouge, we know Pete would love and welcome your visit.Thank you for your support with this fundraiser. We couldn't have done it without the generous friends of Pete. It would have meant the world to him.We'll post a final update once we receive notice of the burial fees, and if you have questions, feel free to reach out anytime.Thanks again, and all our best.Jack and Amber,
Fellow friends of PeteRest easy, Pete. We'll never forget you.
November 25, 2025We're working these last few days around Thanksgiving to see if we can gather enough donations for Pete's burial site. We currently have enough raised to bury him in Baton Rouge, where he is now, but we'd love to see him get back to New Orleans, the city he loved and his home.We're planning to leave the site and fundraiser up and going to see if we can put together a memorial of some kind, but our main priority now is getting Pete to his final resting place.We'll continue to post updates as we have them and email everyone once confirmed plans are in place. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us as well.
November 3, 2025As we mentioned in last week's update, we moved ahead with cremation plans for Pete. That invoice is attached below. (It feels callous to have to talk about payments and invoices, but we want to be transparent with our spending and where donated funds are going.)We spoke with James Andrews this morning, and he's still very interested in heading up a memorial for Pete in New Orleans. We'd like to work to make that happen, but we'll need to do a little more fundraising to have enough to cover the memorial, as well as Pete's final burial site.Until we know if we can do it, we're holding off on a set date for a memorial. We'll post updates as we have them and email everyone once confirmed plans are in place. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us as well.
Reference document:
Invoice for cremation services
October 28, 2025We're moving ahead with cremation plans for Pete.James Andrews has generously offered to head up a memorial for Pete in New Orleans. We're just waiting to confirm details and final costs to ensure we can cover everything with the funds we've raised so far, but here are our tentative plans.Date:
-- Thursday, November 6Time:
-- 5 PM CTRoute / Location:
-- Start at Little People's Place
-- Stop at Tuba Fat's Square
-- End at Cafe IstanbulAttire:
Traditional Jazz funeral
Black & white attireWe're still working out the details for a final resting place for Pete and will post those updates as soon as we have them (note that if we're able to arrange a final resting place in New Orleans, that may affect the second-line route—again, all plans are tentative, but we will keep this site updated as we go).After funeral, burial, and initial memorial arrangements are made, we're hoping to keep the fundraising and memorial efforts going for a permanent tribute statue for Pete. Our priority now, though, is to lay Pete to rest.We'll try to send an email to everyone once confirmed plans are in place, but again, we'll always update this site with the latest, and if you have any questions, you can reach out to us as well.
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Tribute
In Loving Memory of
Wilbert “Windex Pete” Pritchett
April 23, 1951 – September 23, 2025
If you ever walked through the French Quarter, you probably crossed paths with a man whose smile could light up a whole block, Windex Pete. His real name was Wilbert Pritchett, but to the people of New Orleans, he was simply Pete, a living reminder that joy, kindness, and gratitude don’t come from what we own, but from what we give.Pete lost his home after Hurricane Katrina, yet he never lost his spirit. For decades, he could be found around Tremé and the French Quarter, always on his bicycle, always sharing laughter, stories, and encouragement with everyone he met. To Pete, life wasn’t about things. It was about people. His motto was simple but powerful: “I’ve never had a bad day.” And he lived by it every single day.Whether you handed him a few dollars, shared a beer, or just stopped to talk, you walked away richer than when you came. He had a way of giving more than he ever received—hope, humor, and a reminder of what really matters.If you ever met Pete, you know: He wasn’t just part of the Quarter. He was the Quarter. Always smiling. Always shining. Always reminding us, life is still good.
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Memory wall
This is where friends and strangers alike can share Windex Pete stories, photos, and moments of kindness.
P.S. Know it's a stretch, but if we can keep the photos PG, it would be greatly appreciated. We know they're mostly taken on Bourbon, but ...
What's the joke about "copies for Pete"? Pete was known for "selling" (and giving away sometimes ... if he liked you) copies of random memorabilia, sketches, and notes he gathered from the—probably thousands of—friends and celebrities he met throughout the many nights he spent in the Quarter. If you were a good friend, he'd ask you for money for copies so that he could go down to the closest "Kinkos" (now just FedEx) to keep his "business" going. When asked how much he made from selling his copies, he'd say, "Sometimes one dollar, sometimes nine dollars—just help me with the money, I have a business to run!"
I met Pete several years ago while working in New Orleans, and we became friends. He was quite a fixture in the French Quarter, and I stayed in touch with Pete through the years. No longer in New Orleans myself, I still kept in contact with him, and later they moved Pete to a nursing center in Franklinton, Louisiana. I talked to Pete probably once a month. On September 23, 2025, I got a call around 1:30 in the morning that Pete had passed away and that he had no family listed. They said, “If anything happens, call this number.” So they called that number, which was mine, and was an honor to me. It meant a lot that he thought that much of me and had the belief that I would do my best to take care of him if something happened.Pete's friend,
Jack
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Have a photo of Pete or a story to share about him? Submit it below.
P.S. Know it's a stretch, but if we can keep the photos PG, it would be greatly appreciated. We know they're mostly taken on Bourbon, but ...
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