Lou Pompilio, 78, was a Realtor and raconteur

Lou Pompilio made everyone feel like they were his best friend, a surrogate child, a brother.

He was a person for whom the phrase “a real character” was invented: a man who might wander through the supermarket in high rubber rain boots, a white undershirt, and a cowboy hat; who permed his hair long after it was fashionable to do so; who would jump out of the car at a red light to dance in the street. You couldn’t help but smile when you were around him.

Mr. Pompilio, 78, of Warren, N.J., died Monday, May 4, at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital from complications of COVID-19.

Born and raised in Plainfield, N.J., the son of Dorothy and Ziggy Pompilio, Mr. Pompilio attended Plainfield High School and worked for a time as a barber until he broke a leg playing baseball. The accident kept him off his feet for weeks, and he filled the time by enrolling in real estate school, happening upon a successful career in sales that would see him launch his own firm, Century 21 Louis Pompilio Real Estate. He worked full-time as a broker until his death.

Mr. Pompilio was married for 47 years to Patricia Rocco Pompilio, the Plainfield High girl he pursued doggedly despite her initial coolness. They raised a family together, daughters Natalie and Tricia Pompilio of Philadelphia, whom he loved and bragged about to anyone he met. In his later years, Mr. Pompilio derived great joy from being “Papa” to Tricia’s three girls, for whom he was always willing to sit for facials and pedicures when they decided it was spa day.

When you were with Mr. Pompilio, you ate well, laughed until your cheeks hurt, and possibly entered a dance-off at his insistence. He was a consummate entertainer, imploring you to come visit and stocking up on your favorite food for the day you did come to dinner. He was also a prankster, such as the time he persuaded his family to stage an elaborate birthday dinner, complete with presents and cake, for a guest whose birthday was not for months, or the Thanksgiving when he and a guest, in on the joke, told Mr. Pompilio he hated his tie, then dramatically grabbed scissors to cut it in half.

When he was in his 60s, Mr. Pompilio pursued dreams of becoming an actor, despite being afraid of public speaking and lacking any acting talent, his family said. He did land a role as an extra in the TV show Cold Case, in which Mr. Pompilio distinguished himself by wandering frequently to the craft services table to eat the free food.

He relished summer trips to Wildwood, family poker tournaments, New York sports teams of all stripes, the music of Sinatra and Bobby Darin. Mr. Pompilio had a cat named D.J. — for the Yankees’ Derek Jeter — to whom he gave a rich imaginary life, saying when he misplaced his car keys that the cat swiped them to go out on the prowl. Mr. Pompilio always picked up the check and wanted to help everyone he knew, and often did.

No one ever met another person quite like Lou Pompilio, said daughter Natalie, a former staff writer at The Inquirer and Daily News. “He made me laugh, all the time.”

Mr. Pompilio, who was predeceased by his wife, is survived by his daughters, granddaughters, a sister, and extended family and friends.

His family hopes to hold a memorial service in August, near his birthday, after which loved ones will be expected to eat and drink prodigiously, as he would have insisted.

— Kristen A. Graham, kgraham@inquirer.com