Louis E. Leone

Lorain - Louie Leone, 93, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 surrounded by his family at the Avon Oaks Caring Community.

Louie, a life-long resident of Lorain, was born on July 25, 1926 to Antonio and Palmarose Leone. His family came from the small village of Civitella in the Abruzzi region of Italy. In search of work and opportunity, his father immigrated to America in 1921, and his mother followed closely behind in 1923. They settled in the growing city of Lorain.

At the age of 17, Louie enlisted in the Navy in 1944 during World War II.  He was sent to the Pacific to heavy fighting in Okinawa. He was assigned to an 87 man crew on an anti-aircraft support for escorting destroyers and other naval ships.  Louie served in Japan post “V-J Day” and visited the cities hit hardest by the bombings. He was honorably discharged as a Navy cook and was awarded the Asiatic Pacific Area Campaign Medal with 1 Star and also received the American Area Campaign and Victory Medals.

Louie is survived by his loving wife, Sue (nee DeSantis) Leone; daughters, Janie (Woody) Green, LuAnn (Tony) DiGiandomenico and Toni Sue (Mike) Longwell; sister-in-law, Tina (Fred – deceased) Zocchi; grandchildren, Michelle, Nicole (Robby), Lou (Jenny), Tony, Nick (Destiny) and Anna; and great-grandchildren, Michael, Holly, Lucy and Harlyn. Although Louie did not have a son to carry on his last name, the Leone name lives on with the middle names of his grandson, Tony and great-grandson Harlyn.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Antonio and Palmarose Leone; sister, Tomasina (Patsy) DelSignore; brother-in-law, Angelo (Celeste) DeSantis; and sister-in-law, Carmella (Albert) Januzzi.

For 37 years, Louie worked in a variety of positions at the Lorain-Toledo-Fairport docks. Later, he worked several years as a bridge operator on the Lorain Bascule Bridge. His favorite visitors were his grandchildren. They loved to watch their grandfather in action as he raised the bridge for large ships floating down the Black River. In 1988, Louie retired and focused his time on family, the Italian American Veterans Post #1, golfing and fishing. He was an active member of St. Peter’s Church his entire life.  He honored fallen service men and women every Memorial Day by planting flowers around the Flag in front of the church.

Louie loved being a part of and serving with the IAV color guard. He became a color guard member and eventually Captain. In the color guard, he proudly marched in the Memorial Day Parade, attended Lorain Civic functions and performed services at wake visitations of military funerals. Utilizing the skills he learned in the Navy, Louie was a fixture as a cook for the monthly spaghetti dinners for over 50 years.

Smiling and personable, Louie was a genuine Paisan. His love for Italian culture, food, and music was his passion and he loved sharing it with his family. He would regularly prepare homemade sausage, pizza, baccalà, and his be-loved ‘chicory’ (dandelions).  Louie was the patriarch of the Leone family and a proud Italian American veteran. He will be deeply missed.

The Leone family would like to thank all of the staff, nurses and especially Nurse Joe who took excellent care of Louie and the entire Leone family during Louie’s stay at Avon Oaks Caring Community.

The family will receive friends at Reidy-Scanlan-Giovannazzo Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 2150 Broadway, Lorain (440) 244-1961 on Friday, February 14, 2020 from 3:00 – 7:00 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, February 15, 2020 at St. Peter Parish, 3655 Oberlin Ave., Lorain, Fr. John Retar, Pastor, officiating.(meet at Church on Saturday) Christian burial services will be held at Calvary Cemetery in Lorain with military honors by the AMVETS Post 32. Online condolences may be shared with the family by using www.rsgfuneralhome.com.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Louis E. Leone, please visit our floral store.