Obituary of Louis P. Longo

Louis P. Longo, 97, of Glastonbury, passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 22, 2019 at home. He was the beloved husband of Kathleen Longo for 21 years. Born to John and Josephine Patrucco Longo, Lou lived his whole life in Glastonbury, Conn. and what a life it was! Distinguished dairy farmer, milk marketing leader, he was also an author, inventor and entrepreneur. A man of many parts, Lou was first and foremost a visionary businessman who for 35 years organized and led to the eventual consolidation of 10 cooperatives of dairy farmers in New England into one of the largest milk marketing cooperatives in New England – now called Agri-Mark - whose farmers now own the Cabot brand of cheese and dairy products. Lou owned and operated a milk hauling business for 42 years without missing a day of pickup. He previously owned Minnechaug farms, a 300-cow dairy, which he passed down to his sons, and now has been preserved as open land. He authored a regular column for 12 years in Hoard’s Dairyman, “The Business Side of Dairying” and wrote “The Pursuit of Profit”, a book still used as a reference by farmers today. Lou held a patent for a cattle magnet used for the prevention of hardware disease in dairy cattle. Lou was proud to be called a dairy farmer! Lou was the former President of the Connecticut Milk Producers Association, which merged with Modern Milk to form the Consolidated Milk Producers Association, which then merged with the New England Milk Producers Association and the United Farmers of New England to form Yankee Milk in 1972, the largest dairy farmer cooperative in the New England market. Lou became Chairman of Yankee and remained at that post when the co-op was renamed Agri-Mark in 1980 when it purchased the property, plants and equipment of the region’s largest bottler - the H.P. Hood Company. Though this relationship did not last, Agri-Mark used the money and experience from that investment to merge with Cabot in 1992, providing the region’s farmers with a respected brand, which was what Lou always wanted. Lou retired from his position as Chairman of the Board of Agri-Mark in 1984, but throughout his tenure he was known as a respected leader and a dynamic speaker and visionary for the dairy industry. His industry leadership was recognized by many associations and boards that he served on: Executive Committee of the National Milk Producers Federation, National Dairy Council, Board of Directors at Glastonbury Bank and Trust, Glastonbury Town Planning and Zoning; and through the numerous awards he received. On the national level, he served as an advisor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on foreign trade under Ronald Regan’s administration and was inducted in 2005 into the dairy industries ‘hall of fame’, known as the “National Dairy Shrine”. Lou got a laugh, as a farmer, at being named in the Hartford Courant’s 1986 Celebrity Register of 350 Connecticut celebrities. Locally, Lou was known for his great vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and giant tomatoes. In addition to his wife, Lou leaves his sons; Louis Jr. (predeceased), Michael, and Paul; his daughters, Beatrice, Margaret, and Joan. He also leaves nine loving and caring stepchildren, twelve grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren. Lou lived a full life doing for others. In lieu of flowers, he would want you to spend time doing for others as well. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 10:00 am at St. Dunstan Church, 1345 Manchester Rd., Glastonbury. Burial will be in St. Augustine Cemetery, South Glastonbury. Friends may call on Friday, January 10, 2020 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Mulryan Funeral Home, 725 Hebron Ave., Glastonbury.