Carom
ZOERSEL - The Belgian billiard world has lost an very special personality this week. 58-year-old Ferre van Loco died suddenly at home in Zoersel. He was a major sponsor in the billiards world, for many years engaged in the Superprestige in Lommel and a good friend of Frédéric Caudron and Eddy Leppens.
Ferre van Loco leaves behind five children: Paul (31), Janni (29), Wim (26), Inge (25) and Femke (11) and was the grandfather of five grandchildren. He was born on October 17, 1955 in Wilrijk and lived until his death in Zoersel.
In the years that he got a name in the billiards world, but also in business world, Ferre was known as a particularly jovial and sociable person. That's how his eldest son Paul describes him. ,,He was a man with a big smile, enterprising, social and a man of great charisma, who always took the lead.''
In his younger years Ferre van Loco served in the army, he was a teacher in special education, had a business in telemarketing and built up a business in the wine trade: Cuvino.
His passion for billiards came later when he met Frédéric Caudron and Eddy Leppens in Deurne. This friendship grew into a partnership: Ferre became one of the main sponsors of the Superprestige, was the entertainer in that tournament and later responsible catering manager for parties in the Salpho billiards center Frédéric Caudron.
,,The billiard microbe he received from Frédéric and Eddy'' says his son Paul. ,,My dad only played some tennis in his younger years and liked to play some billiards at home. But when he learned to know those two guys, he got a real passion for billiards. And he had the mission to bring back the era of Ceulemans and Dielis in the media.''
Frédéric Caudron looks back with wistfulness at a wonderful friendship and collaboration. He wants to emphasize that Ferre was ,,the man behind the Superprestige.'' Caudron: ,,And although his company (Cuvino) didn’t do so well, he continued to sponsor our tournament for years, because he would not drop us. He paid himself a Vip table to help us, without advertising for his business.''
The world champion in three cushion will remember Ferre van Loco as very honest and direct person. ,,He always said what he thought, he could be hard sometimes, but not so much later he turned into a gentle man. And usually he was right with his quick reactions. I certainly don’t saw that as a negative feature.''