Dr. Frank Minyard has been talking about retiring for years. But on Monday, after 40 years as the man who has the final word in determining the cause of death for hundreds of New Orleanians annually, he said it was the candidacy of his hoped-for successor as Orleans Parish coroner that finally made the decision for him.
“It’s a long time coming,” said Minyard, 84, standing before reporters and cameras in the low-ceilinged funeral home-turned-Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office on Martin Luther King Boulevard.