Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1368856
18 JUNE/JULY 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED A TRIBUTE TO LOU SOMOGYI rian second, while Lou was a historian first and a journalist second," Prister explained. "We both realized quickly that this was our calling. This is ex- actly what we wanted to be doing." Times change, careers evolve and once the Internet invaded Notre Dame football coverage, Prister left Blue & Gold Illustrated in 2004 to launch his own business and Notre Dame athletics website. After many transformations, So- mogyi's career also took a turn in 2009 when Coman Publishing pur- chased Blue & Gold Illustrated and BlueandGold.com to help the maga- zine improve its presentation and the website bolster its content and immediacy. As an old-school journalist, Somo- gyi's transition from print to elec- tronic media wasn't easy, but — of course — he adapted and became not only a reliable leader and content pro- vider for both the magazine and the website, but also a dear and missed friend to publisher Stu Coman. Tough and on point, Coman built his successful career on a leadership belief that everyone is replaceable. "I changed that statement after working with Lou for several years," Coman shared. "Now I say, 'almost everyone is replaceable.' Lou was the rare talent that cannot be replaced." ALONG COMES AMALIA By all accounts, Somogyi was a creature of habit, almost to a fault. Long work hours and a strict fitness regimen were part of a de- manding daily routine, while social pursuits beyond church and college football gatherings remained of little interest to him. That outlook changed about eight years ago when Somogyi was walk- ing his beloved small fluffy white dog, Belle, and made a chance meeting with the future love of his life, Amalia Vegh. Through a shared Hungarian heri- tage that occasionally brought these two together for cultural gatherings, Somogyi and Vegh had known each other casually for about 30 years. But timing and circumstances kept them from ever becoming more than acquaintances, until this serendipi- tous meeting during a mundane dog walk. The two chatted, Amalia handed Somogyi her business card, the two had dinner at a cozy local restau- rant named Yesterday's, they dated from that moment forward and were married in a small, private ceremony only eight months ago. "If there is one thing I can take away from all of this and feel good about," Morris reflected, "it's that Louie found somebody before this happened who truly loved him, and he deeply loved back." BGI director of advertising sales Michelle DeLee-Hamilton started working with Somogyi at the maga- zine in 1991 and has held a variety of important professional and personal roles with the company since. Working together for almost 30 years, Michelle and Lou became close friends, and that bond even- tually pulled Michelle and Amalia close as well. About three years ago, during a 10-year anniversary celebration of Coman Publishing's acquisition of Blue & Gold Illustrated and Blueand- Gold.com, Michelle glanced across the table and caught a tender mo- ment that she hasn't forgotten. "I saw Lou lovingly place his hand on her arm, and she on his," Michelle recalled. "Then she rested her head on his shoulder. It was the purest, most beautiful representation of true love I have ever seen." Like all of us, Michelle still mourns the loss of a longtime colleague and dear friend. "His daily greeting and tapping on his computer keys in the office next to mine will be sorely missed," she said. "But his passion for life, conta- gious laugh and selflessness will be missed even more." Michelle's serves as another per- sonal tribute to a great person and an irreplaceable mentor. "Lou was always a man of char- acter," Michelle explained. "In all the years working with him, I never heard him say an unkind word about anybody, except about himself when he would find a misspelling in one of his stories!" Taking this biographical journey through the life of a friend, a colleague, a mentor, a Samaritan, an inspiration and so much more has been equal parts inspiring and heartbreaking. It has also, at times, been frustrating, because no words can fully describe Lou's amazing life and giving soul. And, at least one of Louie's lifelong friends agrees. "If I was ever asked to describe Louie to a stranger," Morris said, "let's see, I'd tell them, 'I have this friend, his name is Louie … ahhh, never mind, you wouldn't get it.'" ✦ "What shocking news, a terrible loss. Lou was an institution on the Notre Dame beat for decades, a kind man who loved his job and the Irish, the consummate professional committed to treating people the right way. RIP, Lou." CHICAGO SPORTS RADIO 670 THE SCORE HOST DAVID HAUGH At left: Lou and Amalia at their wedding with Michelle DeLee-Hamilton and Stu Coman in 2020. Below: Lou and Amalia at a Coman staff Christmas party. PHOTOS COURTESY STU COMAN