Lou Rell

Lou Rell

First Gentleman of Connecticut
In office July 1, 2004 – January 5, 2011
Preceded by	Patty Rowland
Succeeded by	Cathy Malloy
Personal details
Born	November 19, 1940 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	March 22, 2014 (aged 73) Florida
Spouse(s)	Jodi Rell (1967-2014; his death)
Children	Meredith O'Connor Michael Rell
Occupation	Pilot (U.S. Navy & Airline)

Louis Robert "Lou" Rell (November 19, 1940 – March 22, 2014) was an American aviator, commercial airline pilot, and veteran of the United States Navy. The late husband of the 87th Governor of Connecticut, Jodi Rell, he served as the First Gentleman of Connecticut from 2004 to 2011.

Rell was born Louis R. Rell in 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Louis and Helen (née White) Rell.

Rell served in the United States Navy as a pilot, stationed at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia. Rell flew electronic surveillance aircraft from U.S. Naval aircraft carriers. He met his future wife, Jodi Rell, while she was a student at nearby Old Dominion University. The couple, who married in 1967, moved to New Jersey, where he took a position as a commercial airline pilot for Trans World Airlines (TWA). They then moved north to a 19th-century, clapboard farmhouse in Brookfield, Connecticut, in Fairfield County. Brookfield is popular with airline pilots based in New York City.