Louis Rizzo was born in Denver, Colorado, on August 21, 1945, to Louis and Sue Rizzo. He grew up in Colorado with his younger sister, JoAnn, and younger brother, Paul. Colorado remained an important part of Louis’s life throughout his life, both because of his family roots there and because of his love of the outdoors and the mountains.
One of the defining parts of Louis’s life was his marriage to his wife, Barbara. Louis and Barbara were married on November 28, and this year would have marked their 62nd wedding anniversary. Together they raised two sons, Anthony (Tony) and Daniel (Dan). Their family grew to include their daughters-in-law, Kathy, married to Tony, and Kelly, married to Dan; three grandchildren, Alexandria (Ally) married to Nolan, Niccolas (Nic) engaged to Gabi, and Jackson (Jack); and three great-grandchildren, Penelope, Beau, and Holli.
Louis was a hard worker, something that was evident throughout his career. Shortly after graduating from high school in Colorado, he went to work for Safeway and spent nearly his entire working life in the grocery industry. He began at the store level and steadily worked his way up, becoming a store manager, district manager, regional manager, and eventually a vice president. His career with Safeway ultimately brought Louis and Barbara from Colorado to the Washington, D.C., area when he was transferred there as an executive in the company. Later in his grocery career, Louis joined Buttrey Food & Drug in Great Falls, Montana, as an executive.
Retirement did not initially mean slowing down. Louis and Barbara started a small business selling smoothies at state fairs and festivals. They operated the business for several years and particularly enjoyed the opportunity it gave them to travel throughout Colorado, visiting beautiful places and meeting people along the way.
After selling the smoothie business about fifteen years ago, Louis and Barbara entered another chapter of life that included a great deal of travel. They moved to Florida five years ago but continued traveling both throughout the United States and abroad.
Some of their most meaningful travels connected them with their families’ histories. Louis was very proud of his Italian heritage, and he and Barbara traveled to Italy, including a visit to the town from which his mother Sue’s parents had emigrated. On the same trip, they visited Croatia, where Barbara’s family originated. They also took an extended road trip across the United States, seeing many of the great sights of the country, and continued to spend time in the Colorado mountains.
Louis enjoyed the outdoors throughout his life. He loved fishing in the rivers of Colorado and became a skilled fly fisherman, and he taught Tony to fish and hunt when he was young. Those became activities father and son would continue to share throughout Louis’s life. Louis and Barbara also enjoyed hiking together. For many years, he and Barbara would escape the winters of Colorado and spend time in Arizona, particularly Pheonix and Sedona, enjoying hiking, golf, and the warmer weather. Barbara particularly remembers their hikes in Sedona, although Louis was not one to linger on the trail or stop for many breaks. Once they started a hike, his preference was to keep moving because, as Barbara remembers it, he wanted to “get it over with.”
Golf became another important part of Louis and Barbara’s life together, particularly in retirement. They played frequently in Florida and also enjoyed playing when they traveled. Louis could be a very good golfer and won the annual family golf tournament on several occasions. He even had 3 aces, which is 3 more than his kids and grandkids combined.
Baseball, however, was a love that went all the way back to Louis’s childhood, when he played the game himself. He was a devoted New York Yankees fan, a passion he shared with Tony. After a Yankees loss, father and son could almost always be counted on to talk the next day and dissect what had gone wrong with the team. He also loved watching his grandkids Ally and Nic play softball and baseball, respectively, and would be at every game he could. He merely tolerated watching soccer but still showed up because the love for his grandchildren outweighed his strong dislike for the sport.
As a father, Louis was involved in the things his sons loved. Tony remembers him simply as the best coach he ever had, regardless of the sport. And Dan remembers countless rounds of golf where they would give each other “one more” critical swing tip. As the family grew, Louis especially loved being with his grandchildren, whether taking them on trips to Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs, skiing together at Winter Park, or proudly cheering them on from the sidelines of any sport they tried.
Those closest to Louis remember him as hardworking, caring, a bit stubborn at times, and someone who loved to make people laugh. His sense of humor was generally more subtle and reserved than gregarious, but he could also be fun and silly. He mellowed considerably in retirement after the demands of his working years were behind him, which became most evident in the sloth-like speed of his driving.
He was not generally an especially competitive person, although family poker games during the holidays could reveal another side of him. Louis took considerable satisfaction in pulling a large pile of chips toward himself after winning a hand—even though the chips might have been worth only five cents apiece.
Louis liked things neat and orderly, but there were two things in particular that simply had to be kept just right: his grass and his hair. He could be remarkably fussy about the yard, making sure the lawn was properly cut and looking the way it should. He applied much the same standard to the top of his own head. Louis might not have been terribly concerned about the rest of his appearance, but his hair needed to be properly cut and carefully combed. A well-kept lawn and well-kept hair were apparently two standards on which he was simply unwilling to compromise.
There was also an imaginative side to Louis that Barbara knew particularly well. She affectionately called him “Walter Mitty” because he could daydream about being different people and doing different things. He loved Western movies and sometimes imagined that he would have liked being a cowboy living in the 1850s. It was part of the fun and slightly silly side of Louis that Barbara knew over their many decades together.
Louis’s Catholic faith was an important and enduring part of his life. He and Barbara attended Mass every week, and the Church was always a meaningful part of the life they shared together. During the last five years of his life, Louis became increasingly engaged in his faith. He spent more time reading Scripture, praying frequently, and deepening a faith that had been with him throughout his life. His faith was not something new that appeared at the end of his life, but something longstanding that became increasingly important and personal to him in his later years.
Louis’s life took him a long way from the young man who went to work for Safeway immediately after high school. His career carried him from Colorado to Washington and Montana; retirement eventually brought him and Barbara to Florida; and his travels with Barbara took them throughout the United States and overseas. Through all of the chapters of moves, travel, and life’s ups and downs, many of the things that mattered to him remained remarkably consistent: his family, his Catholic faith, his roots in Colorado, his Italian heritage, hard work, laughter, and, above all, the life he and Barbara built together over more than six decades.
Louis died on September 9, 2026, surrounded by love and prayer. He leaves behind a family that now spans four generations who all love him deeply.
Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel, 604 43rd Street, Bradenton, Florida, is in charge of funeral arrangements.
