In the early hours of June 8, 2020 we lost a true Native Son of Humboldt County.  Louie Antone Lorenzo was born on a dairy farm located just northwest of Ferndale in a small gathering of buildings known as Camp Weott. This was on January 12, 1925.  Over the years he would be joined there on the farm by nine brothers and sisters.  He loved the Eel River Valley and made Fortuna his home until his passing.

In his youth Louie was a rugged athlete.  He was good at just about anything physical during his years in school, but he loved the rough and ready contact of football best.  He was a tenacious boxer who enjoyed squaring off against an opponent in the ring. He was tough in the ring and was one of those boxers who didn’t mind taking a few punches to get his own devastating blows in. 

Louie joined the Army Air-Corps in January, 1945 and was soon maintaining and repairing aircraft here in the US as well as at bases overseas. He was the kind of man who could fix just about anything. 

When Louie met Vivian Machado he was smitten. She was the love of his life and that was evident by their 60-years of marriage. She, too, loved the outdoors so it was a match made in heaven. They raised two sons John and Dennis and remained a close-knit family until her untimely passing in 2011. 

Louie loved the outdoors. This worked well for him in his chosen field of work: construction.  He spent most of his working years doing heavy construction on roads.  During his career he spent a good deal of his time working on Highway 101. There was much work needed on that road and Louie was glad to do it.  The harder the job, the better he liked it.  He liked the roll and flow of road construction.  Every job… every location different.  But he especially liked the fact that road construction offered him time off between projects or when the weather was bad.  Work hard. Time off. Time for fishing! 

When it was time for fishing there was very little that could keep him off the water. His favorite anchorage was Shelter Cove and he lived for the Salmon season. Well, yes, he would fish for just about anything that was in season but Salmon fishing a few miles out to sea was his joy.  When it was allowed, he would dive for Abalone. And he had his own set of crab-pots. No, Louie did not bemoan the bad weather, he saw the time off from construction as an opportunity to fish! 

Louie was not a talker.  He did not regale his friends and siblings with fishing stories or tales from his past.  He made every word count. He had a sharp wit and a dry sense of humor.  If you were to ask him, he might tell you about the time he caught a Halibut that was bigger than him!  The photo in the newspaper could not fit the entire fish in… but the look on Louie’s face told the whole story. No words needed. 

Louie is survived by two devoted sons, John Lorenzo of Fortuna and Dennis (Cathy) Lorenzo of Sutter Creek; grandchildren Dustin (Alyssum) of Ukiah and Kelley (Ron) Howard of Ketchikan Alaska, great-grandchildren Ronnie, Alyssa, Caleb, Sarae, and Ava and his brothers Evo, Ronald, and Richard, his sisters Evelyn Docili, Elsie Giacomini, and Dorothy Bolcioni as well as many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Vivian, his parents, brothers Joe and Henry and sister Irene Martin.

Cremation care has been entrusted to Goble’s Fortuna Mortuary.The family will have a service celebrating Louie’s life at a later date.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Louie Lorenzo’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.