Louis John de Smet (Louie was his preferred nickname) was born November 1927 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in a small 2-bedroom 1 bathroom home with his parents and 3 younger siblings- George, Dorothy, and Jim. Louie and George slept on the unfinished porch, which at times served as a refrigerator. From a young age, he was described as responsible and hardworking. Chores were done without complaint, and he found employment to help pay for his enrollment at Loyola Academy High School. The Jesuit school was expensive, so Louie woke up at 4 a.m. every morning to push a heavy three-wheeled cart delivering newspapers. He was no stranger to hard labor; he also worked delivering coal to houses.
As a hobby, he practiced boxing and would often shadowbox outside his house. He taught others to box, won numerous matches, and learned how to "dance" to avoid getting hit. Louie also enjoyed keeping collectables and even kept his war food ration booklet from when he was 14 years old. After learning Latin and Greek, he would attempt to decipher his father's Spanish and French books as a form of enjoyment. Another interest was playing bridge, which he learned by watching his parents when company played at their home. As a young adult he played bridge often and liked to check the paper for the latest game challenge. While in school, Louie excelled, especially in Science. He was able to skip his last year of high school and attended a year at Loyola University before entering the navy. Louie volunteered to join the U.S. Navy near the end of World War 2 and served from 1945 to 1947. After being discharged, he had to hitchhike back to Chicago alone with very little pocket money, eating candy bars for meals. When his sister Dorothy drove with him so he could attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in NY, he insisted on picking up every hitchhiker along the way. Louie graduated RPI with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 1950. After graduating, he enjoyed staying at a YMCA in N.J. to save money while working at DuPont and Westinghouse. He met some good friends who would play bridge together. While at the YMCA, he attended a dance where he met his wife, Lorraine; they were married in 1952. He adored Lorraine and would often say that she "was always right." They had 4 daughters whom he would often introduce by their birth number as a joke, e.g., "this is daughter #4." Louie helped raise his granddaughter Kelliann and became a father figure to her as well. She asked him to give her away at her wedding. When she coincidentally moved to Illinois as an adult, she quickly realized what he had meant while muttering "the cubbies lost again" with the crumpled newspaper in hand. She purchased him a jacket and hat from Wrigley Field which he proudly wore daily, especially on the day the cubbies won the 2016 World Series. Louie truly enjoyed nature. He was a lifelong member of the National Geographic Society and contributed to many nature conservation organizations. He loved growing delicious organic vegetables for his family in the backyard garden, beginning in the 1960's. He enjoyed feeding the local birds and stray cats, walking his rescue dog 5 times daily, and was a stickler for recycling. Louie was also a devout Catholic and went to church daily. He was a parishioner of Saint Thomas More and volunteered previously for activities such as the yearly carnival, CCD, ushering, and Bingo. He would help with the church recycling and often donated to extended family members' churches without recognition. Louie was very friendly, had a unique sense of humor, and was well-known in the community. He helped collect money for breast cancer research by knocking on neighbors' doors for donations. He enjoyed silly sayings such as "I was born at an early age...", calling himself "fat foolish father" for some unknown reason, and telling his family how he had to "walk to school in the snow, uphill, both ways." So many people commented, before and after his death, how they loved his sense of humor and what a nice person he was. Louie lived 95 long and fulfilling years. If you want to know the secret to almost living a century- it may include a daily diet of pumpernickel bagels, milk, black coffee, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, anything that was served for dinner, and of course- chocolate ice cream for dessert. Louie never truly retired, he volunteered as the treasurer for the Riker Hill Art Centre and took over his father's calendar business which he ran for the rest of his life. He always did what he could to help others and kept as busy as possible. The day Louie entered the hospital he had the kind of productive day he loved. He independently drove himself to church, the store, and recycling; he passed away a week later. Louis passed away fittingly on Labor Day 2023; he will forever be loved and missed. He is survived by his: siblings- Dorothy Schatteman and Jim de Smet, daughters- Jean (Bob Hackemack), Carolyn, and Allise (John Siemienowicz), three granddaughters- Jackie (Elliot) Miller, Kelli (Blake) Douglas, and Kathryn (Dean Corriveau) Dwulet, and three great-grandchildren- Nicholas, Harrison, and Jamison. He is predeceased by his daughter Mary, wife Lorraine, and brother George de Smet. A mass will be held for Louis and Lorraine at the St. Thomas More Church, 12 Hollywood Avenue, Fairfield, N.J. on September 23, 2023 at 10 AM. Arrangements are under the care of Gaita Memorial Home in Little Falls, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation www.bcrf.org or a charity of your choosing.
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