Frederick Barocco

Frederick Erasmo Barocco, son of the late Lena Valenti Barocco and Frederick B. Barocco, died early Thanksgiving morning, November 27, 2014 with his daughter at his side. He'd suffered a fall a week earlier. He was 94. Freddie was an all-star athlete at Jesuit. In 1939, sports writer Art Burke called "Little Freddie" the "greatest of the smallest athletic heroes at Jesuit" due to his speed and skill in track, baseball, and football. Freddie's decade-long professional baseball career with the Evangeline and Tri-State (S.C.) leagues spanned the '40s and the '50s. His lifetime batting average at the time of his induction into the New Orleans Diamond Club Hall of Fame in 1975 was .347, the highest of their members, and his "On Base" average was an amazing .477. He served 4 years in the Coast Guard during WWII, where he met the love of his life, Jacqueline Kandler, a Coast Guard SPAR. They wed in 1945, returned to New Orleans, and raised two children. They were married 65 years until Jackie's death in 2010. Freddie worked for Shell Chemical in Norco for 30 years. He played semi-pro ball for their outstanding company team, managing the club the last two seasons until 1958. A true New Orleanian, Freddie loved stuffed artichokes, raw oysters, red beans on Mondays, and coffee and beignets. And he made a mean Muffaletta. He and his late wife Jackie lived for their beloved Saints. Freddie also "followed the horses," smitten with the races as a youth when he visited Uncle Steve Valenti's stables. Carnival and card clubs, casino trips, the Ole Guys Club, meeting buddies at OTB-dad loved people. Mr. Freddie's door was always open and the M & Ms, cold drinks, and pound cake ready for kids, friends, family, and caregivers who came by his home of 60 years on Division Street. He often said: "I have the greatest neighbors in the world." Freddie is preceded in death by his wife Jackie, son Freddie Jr., brother Joe (Rosemary), sister Catherine (Ray), and brother-in-law Roy Rome. He is survived by daughter Janet Barocco (Richard Heinberg); sister Dottie Rome (late Roy); nieces Judy Scanlon (Paul), Rhonda Mattei (Bret), Beth Flowers (David), Terry Stoute (Wes), Cathy Barrett (Bob); nephews Jay Barocco (Annette), Steven Barocco, and 4 great-nieces, 5 great-nephews, niece and nephew in-laws, cousins, and a host of dear friends. Visitation will be 10:30 am - 12:30 pm on Friday December 5, 2014, St. Benilde Church. Funeral mass at 12:30, burial at Greenwood Cemetery. Arrangements made by Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home, 504-888-8440. www.leitzeaganfuneralhome.com