Lou Antonelli

Obituary

Louis (“Lou”) Sergio Antonelli

Louis (“Lou”) Sergio Antonelli of Clarksville, Texas died unexpectedly on October 6, 2021. He was 64 years old. His family and friends are devasted by his death. Lou was born on January 6, 1957, in Medford, Massachusetts to Anna Maria and Sergio Antonelli. He spent his earlier years living in Medford, Billerica, and Rockland, Massachusetts. Lou’s love of journalism and public service began at an early age when he was a reporter for the local newspaper, the Rockland Standard, while still in high school and he served on the Rockland planning committee. He also reported for several other local newspapers on the south shore, including the Brockton Enterprise, before leaving to attend Columbia University in New York City. He was inducted into the Rockland High School Hall of Fame in 2013 for his professional accomplishments.

Lou spent his college years at Columbia University, served as a college senator, and spent several years working for the university. He made his first venture into politics when he ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1982 to represent the west side of Manhattan.

In 1985, Lou moved to Texas, and he quickly fell in love with his new home state. He began working for the local newspapers in Mesquite, Texas before eventually settling in Cedar Hill, Texas where he owned the Cedar Hill Sentinel for several years and was elected to the local school board. While in Cedar Hill, he met and married his wife, Patricia Randolph.

Lou and Patricia eventually moved to east Texas where Lou first worked for the Malakoff News. He then became editor of the Mount Pleasant Tribune before moving to Clarksville to become the editor of the Clarksville Times in 2015. Later, Lou and Patricia were honored and pleased to have the opportunity to become the owner and publisher of the Clarksville Times in 2018 and most recently also the Mount Pleasant Mirror. In 2018, he received First Place awards for best column writing and news photo from the North and East Texas Press Association. He also served as the president of the Clarksville Lions Club. Serving his community brought Lou great joy.

In his later years, Lou found another love in addition to Patricia and his newspapers and began a second career as a science fiction author. He was so happy to have discovered this new outlet for his creativity and was a prolific writer. His first story was published when he was 46 years old and his first professional sale was "A Rocket for the Republic," published in Asimov's Science Fiction in September 2005. His 2012 short story "Great White Ship" was nominated for the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. Eleven of his stories have received honorable mentions in The Year's Best Science Fiction published by St. Martin's Press." His work “On a Spiritual Plain" was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 2015. His debut novel, "Another Girl, Another Planet," was nominated for the Dragon Award for Best Alternate History novel in 2017. He has 112 short stories published either in print or online.

Lou was a loving, smart, funny, and very sensitive man, and he will be greatly missed by so many. He is survived by his wife, Patricia Antonelli; his mother, Anna Savini (Antonelli), of Great Falls, Virginia; his sister, Angela Antonelli, and brother-in-law, Michael David, of Great Falls, Virginia; and his brother, Frank Antonelli, of Austin, Texas. He also is also survived by an extended family of aunts and cousins and others both in the United States and Italy.

A celebration of Lou’s life will be held at the First Baptist Church, 1501 US Highway 82 W, Clarksville, Texas on Friday, October 15, 2021 with Rev. Mark Gossett officiating. Visitation at 1 p.m. followed by a service at 2 p.m. under the direction of Clarksville Funeral Home. 

Lou would really love it most if you would donate in his memory to the American Heart Association, the Alzheimer’s Association, a local food pantry, or another charity of importance to you and post it on his wall or his Facebook page.

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