By:Hector Flores
John said his father was a particularly good left-handed first baseman. He also never had to use a backhand in tennis, which he also excelled at. In fact, Lou Gennaro was good at most any sport he tried.
"My father was good at baseball, tennis, golf, and was a great ballroom dancer," John said.
Lou was a successful businessman, and a community activist as well. He founded Gennaro Jewelers, in Bellmore, and was past president of the Bellmore Chamber of Commerce and Kiwanis Club.
Gennaro, 77, who suffered from pancreatic cancer, died Dec. 15 in North Carolina, saddening friends around the Bellmores. "It's unfortunate that he had this disease," said Gary Hudes, the current owner of Gennaro Jewelers and a Town of Hempstead councilman. "It's a terrible loss of a good friend, someone I worked with for 19 years."
Hudes said that Gennaro, of Bellmore, was involved in many aspects of community life. He was a parishioner at St. Barnabas Roman Catholic Church, and worked hand in hand with other businesses.
Paul Segerdahl, 61, owner of Wantagh Bootery, was a close friend of Gennaro's when his business was in Bellmore. "I moved to Wantagh in 1989," Segerdahl said. "Lou and I worked very closely with the Bellmore Chamber of Commerce. He was very dedicated to people in Bellmore and ran an honest, upright shop. He was a great retailer and merchant."
Hudes added that when he first arrived in Bellmore 25 years ago, Gennaro taught him the importance of being involved in the community. "When I started, he encouraged me to join community organizations, because it gives back to the community in which you make your living," Hudes said. "He was the one that pointed me in the direction of community service, which I continue to do today."
Gennaro was born in Brooklyn in 1927. His father emigrated from Naples, Italy, in the early 1920s. In 1945, Gennaro joined the Navy and served in World War II. When he returned to the U.S., he enrolled in trade school in Brooklyn to become a watchmaker. In 1952, while still an apprentice in Brooklyn, he married his first wife, Audrey.
In 1954 Gennaro moved his family to East Meadow, where his first son, John, was born. Gennaro began working with Erwin von der Heydt, owner of von der Heydt Jewelers, at 410 Bedford Ave. in Bellmore. Gennaro's wife gave birth to four more children: Barbara, born in 1956; Jim, in 1957; Jane, in 1960; and Regina, in 1962.
In 1962, Gennaro bought the von der Heydt Jewelry store and renamed it Gennaro Jewelers. In 1966, he moved his family from East Meadow to a St. Marks Avenue home in Bellmore. In 1967, he and Audrey divorced. He married his second wife, Anne, in 1996.
In 1979, Hudes joined Gennaro Jewelers, and in 1997 Lou retired. Lou and Anne moved to North Carolina, though they also had a condominium in Freeport.
John Gennaro said of his father, "He was a devoted father and husband. He was particularly close to his family, his extended family in Brooklyn and Naples, Italy."
Segerdahl described Gennaro as a compassionate, happy man who was a good friend for 35 years. Hudes added that Bellmore residents will remember Gennaro for years to come. "I have customers that come to the store and tell me, 'Mr. Gennaro made my sweet-16 bracelet,' and they're in their 50s."
Gennaro was buried at Pinelawn Memorial Park in East Farmingdale last Saturday. He is survived by his wife, his ex-wife, his children and 10 grandchildren.
