Lou Di Simone

Louis Anthony De Simone, 88, left this world peacefully in his sleep, at home on Sunday morning, August 24th, 2025.

Louie was born in Brooklyn NY on July 11, 1937, he is predeceased by his mother Rae (Brigante) Ricetti . His relationship with his mother was truly special, she was devoted to his wellbeing even after she finally married and had 4 more children. He was her #1 son. We are sure that she was waiting at the gates of heaven to welcome him, and smile knowing, now they are reunited.

He graduated from Brooklyn's William E. Grady High School in 1956 where he spent those years playing baseball as the center fielder. So proud when he rec'd his letter for his jacket.

Every Saturday, you could find him and his friends playing stick ball in the street and enjoying listening to his favorite team (the Brooklyn Dogers) on the radio. Once they moved to LA he became a NY Mets fan and would spend many years cheering on both of these teams and going to games at Shea Stadium and then Citi Field, to his delight. In the height of the Doo- Wop era, one day driving in his friend Vinny's 52 Mercury with their leather jackets, and Elvis playing loud on the radio, he meets the love of his life, Patricia… and never looked back.

They got married in Sept of 1959 and would have celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary this Sep 5th.

Lou was a hard-working husband, who took on multiple jobs to support his wife and growing family. They moved to the suburbs in Rahway, NJ in 1969 to begin a new job, and where they also welcomed their third baby girl to complete their family. He worked for Hayward Pool Manufacturing as a shipping / logistics supervisor in Elizabeth, for 30+ years. We often enjoyed the stories he would tell us at the dinner table about the characters he worked with -complete with his impersonations of them, he made us laugh so much!

Having three beautiful daughters he was the "prince "of his castle and enjoyed spending time together in the family pool that he lovingly maintained along with his backyard "resort" for many years to come with constant pool parties and family gatherings.

He loved to travel and enjoyed many beach weeks with the family in Wildwood at the Jersey Shore and later on started to cruise and this became an obsession, together with his loving wife, they cruised and explored all over the Caribbean. He was always the "Dapper Dan" looking for just the right tie for an occasion, and the right suit to wear for captains 'nights on a ship. He loved quality clothes and enjoyed getting dressed up for mass every Sunday and out to dinner with his wife & friends on the weekends. He always color -complimented her outfits so they would look sharp together. He had his own personal tailor "Carmen" that he would frequent for alterations on suits and pants constantly to stay up on the latest fashion trends.

Food was another passion of his, not cooking, but eating! He could not pass up a bowl of macaroni and meatballs and a glass of wine and often would be enjoying a meal and be heard talking about what he would be eating at the next one! He had some appetite which was compromised when, at 43 he was diagnosed with then, a rare muscle disease, called Myasthenia Gravis. Thankfully he was eventually provided lifesaving medicines that he needed to continue to take, to live a healthy and normal life. He was very active in the daily lives of his five grandsons. Attending baseball games, concerts, soccer, football, swimming, karate events, plays and recitals. Enjoying and always proud. Spending time together and watching sports together strengthened the bond they had.

Christmas was his favorite holiday where he would fanatically light up his house to the likes of Chevy Chase in "Nat'l Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation." Then set up his Lionel train set and work on the layout and special details and run it for all to enjoy. Everyone who knew Lou would remark about his sense of humor. He would lighten any situation with comedy. He enjoyed making people laugh and laugh at himself. Watching movies together, he would always prefer a comedy but came Halloween time, we would watch all the horror films with him commenting "Why is she going in the basement?" to make light of how silly some of the stories were. We ate regular Sunday dinners first at my beautiful grandma's house in Brooklyn, then at our own in Jersey where we would all gather and eat moms amazing sauce and talk endlessly usually (at the same time) about updates in our world. Family time is everything. This was displayed back then and duplicated in our own adult lives today.

Left to cherish his memory is his loving wife of ALMOST 66 years Pat, his three daughters Liz (Michael) Barbara, (Lenny) and (Michelle), (Frank), his five grandsons, Corey, Ryan, Lorenzo, Dominick and Gianni. Sisters MaryAnn, Fran, (Joey) and brothers Robert, Jay (Linda) along with cousins, nieces, nephews and friends will continue to remember his good humor and zest for life. Remember him always and as he would often say, "Well, I have an important question... What are we eating? "

In lieu of flowers please make a donation in Lou's memory to The Muscular Dystrophy Association ( MDA) through mda.org

A viewing service will take place on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, from 3:00 pm to 7:00pm. at The Lehrer-Gibilisco Funeral Home located 275 West Milton Avenue, Rahway, NJ 07065.

Funeral service will be Wednesday, September 3, 2025, at 11:00 am at St. John the Apostle Roman Catholic Church located 1805 Penbrook Terrace, Linden, NJ 07036