At the age of 91, Palm Beach Gardens, FL resident and longtime APBA member, Louis J. Aiello, Jr. passed away April 28, 2012.
Aiello, Jr. was born in Morristown, NJ on Jan. 31, 1921. He was raised in both Montclair, NJ and Palm Beach, FL. He was trained in refrigeration and meat cutting while working with his parents Louis and Mary (Russo) Aiello and his brother Eugene, in the family business, Aiello’s Market of Palm Beach. During the 1970s and until he retired he worked in refrigeration and air conditioning in Florida, Washington and Arizona.
In 1942 Aiello, Jr. entered the United States Army and served as military police. After completing his active duty, Aiello, Jr., continued on in the US Army Reserve until retiring in 1981. He was a lifelong member of the Reserve Officers Assoc. of the United States. For military service during World War II, both Lou and his brother are named on the honor roll wall at the Memorial Fountain Park, Palm Beach.
In 1946 Lou married Mary Catherine White in West Palm Beach. Over the years they lived in West Palm Beach, Village of North Palm Beach, Lacey, Wash., Lake Havasu, Ariz., and then returned to West Palm Beach. During the late 1950s Lou and Mary were some of the early residents of the Village of North Palm Beach. Beginning in 1960, for three years Lou served on the Village Council holding the office of Vice-Mayor in 1963. Lou and Mary were married 47 years when Mary passed away in 1993.
Lou’s favorite activity was officiating for the American Power Boat Association (APBA). His lifelong association with speed and powerboats began in 1934 when he entered an outboard race at Lake Hopatcong, NJ. After World War II he no longer competed in races but stayed involved in powerboat racing as a race official. On one of his rare weekends “at home” in 1971 he officiated at the first Old Port Cove Inboard Invitational Regatta. In 1996 he was the APBA Region 5 Man of the Year. In additional to the APBA he had been a member of the Florida Inboard Racing Club, Florida Outboard Racing Association and the Palm Beach Offshore Club.
Lou is survived by his Florida family: nieces; Mary Ann Williams (Alan) and Nancy Kissel (Ken), nephew; Eugene J. Aiello (Kathy), great nieces & nephews and great-great nephews, and his long time companion, Marian Taylor; and, by his Washington family: daughter; Marion Lynn (Doug), granddaughters; Julie Lynn, Maria Lynn, Shauna Mercer (Dan), and Laura Logan (Mike), great-granddaughters and a great-grandson, a great-great-grand daughter and grandson.
In lieu of flowers please consider donations to the APBA Historical Society, 17640 E. Nine Mile Road, Eastpointe, MI 48021 or to the church of your choice.