A respected member of the driving community, former Gladstone Equestrian Association president Louis Piancone was both “a dynamo and a gentleman,” said his close friend, Guy Torsilieri.
Mr. Piancone, 90, died on Thanksgiving after a long illness.
“He was incredibly generous,” said Guy. He noted Mr. Piancone made sure that his Oak Hollow Farm property in Gladstone, once part of the Brady estate, was farmland preserved. That was something he believed in, added Guy, observing that Mr. Piancone played a major role in “keeping equestrian sport alive in the area.”
The chairman emeritus of the Coaching Club of America, the four-in-hand driver had an incredible collection of carriages and coaches. He played a major role in the hugely successful staging of the 1993 World Pairs Driving Championship in Gladstone.
“He was a special individual in every way; his kindness, giving help, anything he could do for you,” commented Sharon Chesson, a former international driver.
“He will be sorely missed by everyone.”
Known for being impeccably turned out, Mr. Piancone treated everyone the same, from his employees to his family, Guy observed. “He was so gracious, total class, the old school.”
“He was a gem,” said Karen Murphy, joint master of the Essex Fox Hounds. “He was a kind, great figure in our community. It’s a loss for us.”
Born in Italy, Mr. Piancone immigrated to the U.S. in 1951. Four years later, he opened a delicatessen in Bradley Beach. Seeing the need for wholesale distribution of quality Italian food products, in 1964 he changed his approach to marketing and distribution, launching Roma Food Enterprises Inc. as its president and CEO. In 2005, Roma merged with Vistar Corporation and in 2008, Roma became a part of Performance Foodservice, which launched Roma products nationwide, becoming a leader in the Italian food service industry.
In 1988 , he pioneered marketing and production of Italian food products in Russia in partnership with the USSR Ministry of Science and Technology and the University of Moscow. He founded Astro Pizza, which brought the art of pizza-making to Russia. A visionary of today’s food truck popularity, he was always one step ahead of the game.
Lou Piancone sitting proudly in the driver’s seat in 2013. (Photo ©2013 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
In 1987, Roma financed and assisted in the baking of a 100-foot-diameter pizza that earned the 1989 Guinness Book World Record for “The World’s Largest Pizza”. Proceeds were given to the United Way, the American Red Cross and the National Italian American Foundation. He was a supporter of the Independent College Fund of New Jersey and helped develop the Junior Achievement Program.
Awards he received included the 1990 Kennedy Center Alliance award for Distinguished Corporate Leadership through Arts in Education; the 1991 Distinguished Citizen’s Award from the Boy Scouts of America and the 1992 Golden Lion Award presented by the Order of the Sons of Italy in America.
In 1992, he established a National Italian American Foundation Scholarship for students studying all facets of agriculture. In 1989, he received the Boy’s Towns of Italy Man of the Year Award and in 1995, its Humanitarian Award. In 1997, he was awarded the Humanitarian Award from the Center for Migration Studies in New York and in 2000, the National Italian American Foundation’s Special Achievement Award. In 2002 he received the Il Comitato Montesi D’America Man of the Year Award and in 2004, the William “Jazz” Jones Brightest Star Award presented by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Newark.
He served on the boards of the U.S. Equestrian Team, the John Cabot University in Rome and the Hitchcock Foundation in Aiken, S.C. He was an honorary member of the U.K. Coaching Club and instrumental in bringing together the American, British and European Coaching Clubs by promoting four-in-hand driving internationally. In July 2016 he was internationally recognized as the Man of the Year by the European Driving Club.
Mr. Piancone also was active on the boards of the Somerset Medical Center Foundation and the Far Hills Race Meeting Association. A member of the International Architectural Council of The Preservation Society of Newport County, R.I., he received its Laurel Award.
Mr. Piancone is survived by his wife, Teri; his children, Mariette (Joseph) Picca, Louis M. (Madeline), Stephen (Deanne) and step-sons Adam and Sean. He has five grandchildren, Noel (Ed) Kaplonski, Joey, Marissa, Stephen and Anna and two great grandchildren, Edward and Peter. He is also survived by a brother, Michael.
In his memory, the family suggests a contribution to the Somerset Health Care Foundation, (Steeplechase Cancer Center) 110 Rehill Ave., Somerville, 08876 or the Far Hills Race Meeting Association, 50 US 202 Far Hills. Arrangements are by the Galloway & Crane Funeral Home in Basking Ridge.