Lou was born in Czechoslovakia. As a young man he completed his electrical engineering ticket in his home country.Trying to flee Czechoslovakia which was under communist rule, he narrowly escaped being shot at as he raced to the border. On May 22/1952, Lou boarded a Greek liner named the Neptune which brought him from Bremerhaven, Germany to Halifax. He settled in Vancouver where he had to rewrite for a Canadian engineering certificate. During this time he took on various work including a job in the galley on the Princess Marguerite,which ran between Vancouver and Victoria. Once he completed his certification, he was hired by a firm in Vancouver. The rest is history, he had an outstanding career in his field. He was married to Margaret Janda in 1958 and had 3 children together,Richard,Donald and Melanie. 1980 brought Lou to Cortes Island where he and his wife bought 50 acres of raw land. This was truly one of Lou's happy places on earth. He loved building and developing his paradise on Byers Point. He enjoyed many days on his deck,watching the sun set while having a beer after a hard day's work. He was equally passionate about his motorcycles and going on bike trips with friends. Many memories were made! In his 80's he made 2 solo bike trips across Canada to dip his hand in the Atlantic Ocean. A desire to travel to new places were always in his plans. He traveled to many destinations local and afar. Lou had a few quotes that he often used to say, "make lots of plans and follow through with as many as you can " he would also say, "the secret to living a long life is to work hard everyday " also, "never trust a politician "! Lou lived up to those standards continually. He will be missed by all those who were inspired by his zest for life.