Lou Camacho Loved Winthrop

The passing this week of Louis Camacho, a lifelong Winthrop resident, removed from our community a man who truly loved our town and its people.

Lou was a veteran of the Vietnam War, serving with the Marines. He received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his gallantry and heroism on the battlefield.

Lou eventually opened a business in Winthrop, Sound Systems, which he operated with success and integrity for many years.

However, what he best will be remembered for by his fellow townspeople. especially by those of us at the Sun-Transcript, was his almost single-handed resurrection of the fireworks show on the Fourth of July.

“Lou and his band of Merry Men,” (as we once described Lou and his fellow pyroyechnicians in an editorial) would bivouac on Snake Island in order to set up their production. Their effort truly was a labor love, but one which Lou felt deeply about both from a patriotic point-of-view and because he felt that Winthrop’s citizens, especially our young people, should have a festive Fourth of July.

Their fireworks display was acknowledged as the best in the area, rivaling that of the Boston Pops show on the Charles River, and attracted tens of thousands of onlookers, including many from out-of-town.

Lou Camacho’s energy, spirit, and love of Winthrop will be missed. We know we speak for all of our fellow residents in offering our condolences to his family and loved ones. May he rest in peace.