Louis Stanley Locacio, Sr. passed from this world on June 21, 2001, having enjoyed 75 years of living life to its fullest. He cared about everyone who came into his life. He made the most casual stranger into a life-long friend. He lived with gusto, straight from the heart. Lou was born in New Brunswick, NJ on June 5, 1926, the eldest son of Anthony J. and Mamie Tomaso Locacio. As soon as he could walk, he loved the rhythm and movement of the dance…and dance he did, as a tap dancer, entertaining in the New Jersey area at depression-era dance marathons, in vaudeville, at talent shows and any gathering of people.

He enlisted in the US Navy during World War II and served in the Asian-Pacific Theater as a parachute rigger. He was stationed in Hawaii and served on the USS Franklin. He enjoyed an undefeated career as an amateur boxer while in the service. At the end of the war, but prior to his discharge, he taught ballroom dancing to the sailors and marines who were waiting to return to civilian life. He returned stateside in 1946 and immediately enrolled in a professional dancing school in New York City. Soon, he met and married Mary Ann Sabat (now deceased), who was the mother of his three children, Lou, Barb, and Teri. In his children and their children, his love of music, his sense of adventure, and his generosity and kindness toward others lives on.

After Lou stopped dancing professionally, he worked in the automobile upholstery business, first for Rayco Auto Seat Covers and Upholstery. Later, he owned upholstery shops in Willingboro, NJ, St. Petersburg, FL and Largo, FL. He moved to St. Petersburg, FL in 1966 and then lived in Largo (1980) and Dunedin, starting in 1985. He moved to Marietta GA in 1996. In Florida, he discovered the joys of golf, which he played until the week prior to his death. In Marietta, he was a member of the East Cobb Senior Golfers.

Always an entertainer, Lou was familiar with magician’s work from his early years in vaudeville. He studied magic seriously starting in 1982, and was a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Society of American Magicians. He entertained professionally in Florida. He could never resist an audience, and he provided much joy and laughter for friends and acquaintances at any occasion.

Ó An Occasional Favor, Bordentown NJ 08505
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