Lou was born Louis Rotar, Jr on May 22, 1935 in Detroit, Michigan. His parents were Matilda Jane Keenan and Louis Rotar, Sr.  Lou was the eldest of four siblings, Betty Jane, Richard Matthew, Mary Lou, and several years later James Walsh. Their family lived in a rural area called Lincoln Park. Growing up, Lou shared a bedroom with his siblings while his father worked for Ford Motor Company and later the Lincoln Mercury company in Detroit. His mother was mainly a homemaker until World War II began and she went to work in a war plant. Lou recalls fighting a lot with his siblings at home, but that outside of home they were fiercely loyal to each other and Lou often got into fights to defend them, especially his brother Dick. Lou was always an avid reader. In his early years, he read everything he could get his hands on, finding ways to shut out the world. His favorite books were Mr. Popper's Penguins and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, but his love of reading would continue throughout his life.

When Lou was 12 years old, his parents divorced and he and his siblings went to live with his father and eventually, new stepmother. He got his first job putting skates on kids at the local roller rink, though he was in charge of most of the household chores at home as well. Life in Junior High and High school was difficult as money was always an issue. There weren't any funds to participate in extracurricular activities or go on dates. Hunting was a favorite pastime with his friends Tony and Tony, but he admits he wasn't a very good shot.

While not really being involved in religion during the early part of his life, he did spend some of his early teens attending a local Methodist congregation.

At 15, Lou moved in with his mother and her new husband. Tensions were rife and at 16 years old, being frustrated with home life and anxious to get out on his own, Lou joined the Marines (he forged a birth certificate in order to enlist). In the Marine Corps, he gained direction for his life and a sense of confidence in his abilities.

As a Marine, Lou would serve in the Korean War as a tanker. He served 2 terms with the military and left the corps when he was 27 years old. During a portion of his tenure in the Corps, Lou helped run tank demonstrations for visiting officials. During what was to be a routine demonstration with blank ammunition, he and his fellow soldiers were horrified when live rounds had been accidentally placed in their artillery, causing a shell casing to ignite and explode inside his tank. Helping the other men to get out of their restraints and exit the tank caused 3rd degree burns on Lou's hands and arms, the scarring of which would remain for his whole life.

Lou met the love of his life, Judy Fowler, in southern California 4 months before he was going to be discharged from the Marines and begin work as a Deputy Sheriff. She was visiting from Utah and staying with some friends. When he first saw her he felt he had to be near her, and it was convenient that Judy's good friend was married to Lou's good friend. His heart was taken by this beautiful, shy young woman who wasn't exactly sure what to do when pursued by Lou. During the third time he saw Judy, Lou took her and a friend to Disneyland. While riding on the Sailing Ship Colombia, he put his arms around her and realized he would do whatever he had to to marry her. He convinced her to stay in California an extra week and took her dancing at the Hollywood Hilton. Afterward when they were sitting in the car, Lou told Judy he loved her. Her response was "What are you going to do about it?" He said he'd like to marry her and she said yes. They had only known each other for a week. Judy went back home to Utah and kept their engagement a secret for the next 4 months until Lou showed up with her ring. It was the longest 4 months of his life, but they wrote to each other every day.

Lou and Judy were married on February 10, 1962 in Utah with 9 people in attendance, but would fly back to California that night so Lou could be ready to start back up at the police academy. Judy immediately took over typing his academy notebook. They were gifted several coffee pots for their wedding, but no pans, so Judy cooked vegetables and other dinner items in coffee pots, sadly burning many dishes. Their first home was a small apartment in Compton. In June of that year, Lou's mother and half sibling Jim would come to live with Judy and him in their apartment. In 1964 they purchased a home in Garden Grove, California where they would live for the next 17 years.

Even though Lou was against organized religion at the time , he agreed to allow any children they had to be raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After being married for almost 2 years, a home teacher from the church asked for permission to come visit. After being unable to answer Lou's onslaught of religious questions, this home teacher brought some reinforcements in the form of Finley Pierce (a High Priest) and Bill Smith (a member of the 70). They encouraged Lou to meet with the missionaries and learn about the church. It was some time later, while attending a fast and testimony meeting, that Lou received confirmation of the truth of the Gospel.

Though Lou would serve in many capacities in the church, including as a Sunday School President, Sunday School teacher, Bishop, and High Priest, it was his efforts as a Home Teacher that impacted those around him the most. Lou was always a very friendly person, and was able to help those around him feel at ease. He was passionate about helping those in need, and often went the extra mile to insure families in his community had food they needed, vehicles, even funds to serve as missionaries themselves. Lou was constantly looking for ways to help those within his sphere of influence.

After 10 years of marriage, Lou and Judy's oldest child, Michael Alan Rotar was born. He was followed by Tina Denise over a year later, and Michelle Ann 7 years after that. In 1979, Lou was impressed to move out of southern California to a small town in northern California, called Oroville. He and his sister, Betty's, family invested in a large plot of land covered in olive trees,where they each built their own homes and a barn. El Varo Ranch housed a small herd of cattle, which was a supplemental income to Lou's job as an attorney in town.

Lou developed an interest in traveling, especially with Judy. During the course of their marriage, Judy and Lou would travel the world, seeing places as exotic as New Zealand, Australia, China, Greece, Italy, Russia, to name a few. They traveled as a couple as well as with their children and took great joy in giving their children opportunities neither Judy or Lou had enjoyed growing up.

Lou was very passionate about music, his favorite singer being Mario Lanza. He could often be heard humming or singing to himself while he went about working on his daily chores on the Ranch. Lou encouraged his children in their musical endeavors and took great pride in listening to his children (and grandchildren) play the piano.

In 2017, Judy and Lou moved to Eagle Mountain, Utah. Lou had promised that someday he would take her "home," so they sold their cattle and olive ranch and moved to where they could be closer to some of their adult children and grandchildren, as well as Judy's siblings and their families. Lou continued to find ways to serve those in his community, though it was more and more difficult due to his health and memory concerns. He would often times buy things he didn't want or need with the explicit intent of finding someone to give it to.

Lou had noticed having memory difficulties for years, and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the late 90's. Thanks to modern science, he began taking a medicine that seemed to halt the degeneration of his mind for many years. When Judy began to experience short term memory loss, they worked together with Lou remembering all the current events and Judy remembering their past. In 2022, after Lou experienced an injury, Judy and he moved to Orem, UT to Covington Senior Living. They continued to appreciate visits from friends and family during this time.

Lou passed away peacefully in his sleep during the night of Monday, July 15, 2024. He is survived by his loving wife, Judy Rotar, and his children, Michael Rotar, Tina Rivera, and Michelle McManus. He is also survived by his siblings, Mary Lou Baldwin and Richard Rotar, his brother-in-law Manuel "Gus" Vargas, as well as 8 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, Louis Rotar and Matilda Keenan, and his siblings, Betty Vargas and James Walsh.

Funeral services will be held Monday July 22, at 11:00 a.m. at Wing Mortuary 118 East Main Street Lehi, Utah. A viewing will be held from 9:30-10:30 a.m. before the Funeral. Interment Lehi City Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers and gifts, please consider donating to the Alzheimer's Association in memory of Lou Rotar.

"Do the best you can in harmony with effort, unselfishness, and love. If at the end of your life you can look back with fewer regrets than pleasant memories, I'd say you've been a success."- Lou Rotar Jr.