5/14 from Marc

Lou Cantori 

Lou Cantori was a force to be reckoned with.  We lost him this week to a heart attack at his home on Monday.

Lou appeared on our show dozens of times over the last fifteen years. He was just a lovely and wonderful  human being with a powerful mind.

He was every bit of the Marine sergeant that he was as a young man in the fifties. He was a patriot who continued to teach not just at his academic home, UMBC but also at our US military and intelligence academies.  He taught them reality of our world, not just what they wanted to hear. He was no one’s parrot. He spoke fluent Arabic and defied America‘s academe by trying to enlighten us to the true nature and soul of the Arabic and Muslim worlds.

He was that unlikely combination of a military and intelligence analyst who was a champion of social justice in America and the world.

Despite all his work, his first priority was the love he had for his family. As his son Greg Cantori said to me this morning, Lou was the best father in the world.  He was always there for them.

Greg also told me the story about when they lived in LA  during the mid-sixties. Lou was the head of the West Side Housing Association, fighting racial discrimination in housing at a time when you were allowed to have "Whites Only" and "No Colored" signs in your advertising.  The great Carroll O’Conner, Rob Reiner and others were fixtures in their home, as board members of Lou’s movement.  It was there that Greg first learned about fighting for social justice.

He is a beacon for all of us. He was a tough guy and gentle caring soul, he was a patriot, a progressive, a jarhead (Marine) through and through, a fighter for social justice and deeply devoted father and husband. Lou Cantori ..  I love you and will miss you forever. I will carry your spirit in my heart.

From the Cantori Family

 There will be an open house to celebrate his life on Sunday, June 8 at Nadia’s home near Laurel, Md. We would be honored to have you attend. Please RSVP by responding to cantorifamily@gmail.com.

Exact details on time and directions will be available soon on our memorial blog/website:

http://rememberlou.blogspot.com

Please check back soon. We will be updating and checking this site frequently.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either of the following:

UMBC Foundation, Lou Cantori Scholarship Fund, C/O Kim Robinson

8th Floor, Administration Building

1000 Hilltop Circle

Baltimore, MD 21250

or

Kidsave c/o Lou Cantori Memorial Fund

PO Box 277587

Atlanta, GA 30384-7487

http://www.kidsave.org/

Lou touched many lives: personally, professionally and in his community and it’s been quite a job contacting so many people.  Please feel free to forward this message to others that knew Lou.

Our family would like to thank everyone who kept Lou in their thoughts during his illness.

The Cantori Family