Louis M. Zuckerman, 77

CUMBERLAND, R.I. – Louis M. Zuckerman of Cumberland, passed away peacefully on Jan. 24, 2022, after suffering a sudden unexpected illness. He was born on May 8, 1944.

He leaves behind a daughter, Sheryl Rennick, and her husband, James, of Cumberland; a son, Adam Zuckerman, and his wife, Michelle, of Glen, New Hampshire. He also leaves his grandchildren, Mackenzie, Kaitlyn, Crystal, Shania, Zachary, Connor, Allison, and three great-grandchildren Tammy, Jacob, and Anais. He also leaves behind his eldest brother, Bernard Zuckerman of Brockton, Massachusetts, and his twin brother, Edward Zuckerman of Springfield, Massachusetts. He was predeceased by his wife Carol (Cooperman) Zuckerman, brothers Fred Zuckerman and Gerald Zuckerman and sister Sylvia Gilman.

Lou married the love of his life, Carol Cooperman, and was able to raise two children and several grandchildren during their life together. They met in high school, where he had told all his friends that he was going to marry that girl someday – and he did!

Lou worked many jobs in his lifetime that gave him the joy of being around people and interacting with the public. He took over the family business in 1969 when his father died. Eagle Food Products was his pride and joy. Not only did it allow him to support his family, but he made many lifelong friends along his routes. He was known to the neighborhood kids as “Mr. Chips.” After a brief health issue, he left this business and started working with his brother Fred doing landscaping. He enjoyed that so much as he got to spend quality time with his brother. After Fred’s passing, he kept working for the business with his sister-in-law Evelyn. Shortly thereafter, he went on to work at Gerry’s Service Station on Blackstone Boulevard. He relished being able to help people and tell his corny jokes – he now had a “captive audience.” After the business was sold, he went to Candeis Auto in Pawtucket where he was able to still enjoy working with the public. During both jobs he also started his own landscaping business on the side. He enjoyed interacting with his customers and had created some lifelong friendships along the way. Many of his customers were saddened when he decided to retire.

In 2016 he retired and moved to Cumberland to live with his daughter and family. Lou enjoyed being on the farm and being surrounded by the animals and peace of the country life. He referred to his home as his “country squire estate.” He spent most of his time indoors due to his health, but this time was spent enjoying old movies, watching his favorite sitcoms, and seeing if he was smarter than the contestants on Jeopardy. He surrounded himself with hundreds of photos of family from the past and present that were hung on his apartment walls. It was important to him to be able to be around family and have the memories at a touch.

He spent a year and a half writing his life story, using a typewriter, one page at a time. At 1,200 pages later he was done, and this will surely be a great story to share with future generations of his family.

A memorial service will be planned for a later date.