Lou was born on May 14, 1934 to first generation Italian parents whose families had emigrated from Italy to Ellis Island in the early 1900’s. His father, Anthony Preziosi, was a grocer and his mother, Minnie (Fadgelon), was a homemaker. He was the youngest of 7 children.
In 1955, he graduated from Niagara University where he played the trumpet and was the bandleader. It was while he was there that his best friend from Freeport Highschool, Berk Swezey, introduced him to his future wife, Muriel Girard, a nurse, whom he married in 1957. They had 7 children and were married for 43 years until Muriel passed away in 2000.
True to his entrepreneurial spirit he founded a sandblasting company in NY where he took on projects such as restoring the Lincoln Tunnel and George Washington Bridge. He moved his company to Florida in 1972 and formed Atlantic Sandblasting & Coatings at Tampa Shipyard, where they specialized in sandblasting the tanks of naval and commercial ships. Later he expanded into video production, asbestos abatement, and was a pioneer in e-commerce with Golfgods.com. In 1987 he opened Garlic Louie’s restaurant, sharing his love and passion for Italian homemade cuisine.
Lou was a generous man with a strong faith in Christ. He was an active member of Nativity Catholic Church and school since 1972. He recently founded www.talktojesus.com, a website to inspire others to have a relationship with Jesus and encourage prayer.
Lou was very proud of his family and their Italian heritage and traditions. Some of the fondest memories were made while preparing huge Italian dinners for the holidays. He would be surrounded by his children and grandchildren, telling stories of the old days with everyone chipping in to make lasagna, meatballs, sausages, raviolis and gravy.
In his spare time you could find Lou playing golf or cards with his friends, managing a little league baseball team for one of his kids or grandkids, or sitting on the back porch, enjoying a cigar with the Rays, Bucs or Nigara Eagles Basketball team on TV.
Lou is preceded in death by his wife Muriel and son-in-law Louis Bergeron. He is survived by his seven children, seventeen grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and many loved nieces and nephews. He will be deeply missed by his children Michelle O'Madigan, Luanne Bergeron, Mark Preziosi (Kimberly), Maria Slowey (Tom), Anthony Preziosi, Louis Preziosi Jr. (Chantell), and Paula Brice (Tom) and his niece, Joanne Lanier.
The family invites friends to a Visitation at Stowers Funeral Home on Thursday, March 21, 2019 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and to Catholic Funeral Mass on Friday, March 22, 2019 at 1:00 pm at Nativity Catholic Church. A reception will immediately follow the mass at The Barn at Winthrop in Riverview, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the Nativity Food Pantry at 705 E Brandon Blvd, Brandon, FL 33511 or to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
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