Opening

Thank you all for being here today to celebrate my dad – Lenny Santarsiero. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word. Charismatic, funny, street-smart and as my wife always says - so handsome.

He was a loyal friend and co-worker, an amazing father, the very best Pop Pop our kids could ever want, and most importantly, a faithful and devoted husband to our mother for nearly 63 years.

His Story

My dad always loved telling us his life story. He was the son of Italian immigrants who owned a neighborhood grocery store on Bishop Street. Growing up, everyone called him “Sonny” because of his happy-go-lucky nature.

His father died when he was just 11 years old, leaving his mother and grandmother Fat Nonnie, to raise him, along with his older brother Bill. Being raised by immigrants gave Sonny more freedom than he should have had. And he was quick to take advantage, test the limits and often get into trouble.

When he’d skip school, he’d fool his mother that there was a leak so it was closed … for the next two weeks. When he pulled other pranks and got caught, our Uncle Bill delt with him as best he could.

There are many more of these stories that added a couple extra years to his time in the Waterbury Public School System. One neat fact is he “hoped to be a cartoonist,” after graduation. For any of you lucky enough to receive a cartoon drawing from him, you know he was talented.

Two things straightened my father out. Enlisting in the United States Navy and falling in love with our mother.

His Greatest Love

The day my mom brought Lenny to her front door, I can only imagine what the Galiette family thought. Dad always compared their love to Lady and the Tramp.

He walked up to their house wearing a black shirt, white tie and fedora hat. When I asked my Uncle John what it was like, he replied, “We thought she brought home a gangster." But my uncle said, “He was so charming.”

I’m sure Grampa Dom had some initial reservations, but he saw the good in everyone. And he must have been to win over our Gramma Lucy. What did she think of him at first? As the story goes, she asked her daughter, “And how old is he?" Of course, he won them all over and together they began the greatest chapter of their lives.

Style & Hard Work

The two cornerstones of my dad’s philosophy of life was work hard and look sharp. He lived those two values every day. Whether he was knocking around Waterbury or heading out for a special night with Mom, he always looked sharp. Nothing was ever wrinkled. Everything ironed and when I say everything, I mean everything - his Yankees t-shirts, jeans, socks. All his handkerchiefs, and even his underwear. His mother and Fat Nonny did all this ironing for years, then some great aunts, and finally, my sisters were stuck with the job.

Shark and I had duties too. Shoveling the driveway at 4:30 AM so he and Mom could get to work. Washing cars. If, you happened to stop bye while we were doing the cars, it was the only time you could pull into his driveway. Once it was clean, back it out and park on the street where your car belonged. Most importantly, Shark and I ensured household compliance with his meticulous way of preparing and taking out the garbage. But Shark, I’ve been back home a lot lately and you seemed to have forgotten everything he taught us.

The Showman

One of my favorite things about my Dad was his impact on the Holy Cross High School Father’s Club,

which is still admired to this day. While he was always willing to work behind the scenes washing pots and pans like he was “back in the Navy” or passing the collection basket at this church, he also had a gift for creating unforgettable experiences.

In fact, when tasked with chairing a room for the school’s infamous Oronoque After Dark my father created an unforgettable experience for anyone lucky enough to get tickets to his sold-out shows. While you could never get away with it today, he transformed a catholic school library into a nightclub straight off the Las Vegas Strip. The shows he put on are still talked about and he raised a lot of money for Holy Cross in the process.

CL&P

For 43 years, our father walked out the door every morning eager to work for CL&P. He loved being outside, no matter the weather – hot summers or cold winters he was so proud of his work. He loved always pointing out transformers and substations he helped build as we drove around Connecticut. While family was everything to my dad, his co-workers were his second family. He forged lifelong friendships and maintained them throughout his life. It’s clear together they accomplished lot but also had lots of laughs and fun while doing it.

Retirement & the Great Eight

Retirement didn't slow him down one bit. His part-time job at the deli kept him out and about Waterbury, the city he loved his whole life. And he was able to spend a lot more time at Mike & Ike’s gas station.

With the birth of Jack, he was now Pop Pop. Quickly after came Willow. Then Emma, Tess and William followed. In a circle of life moment, we had twins again - Charlotte and Caroline and finally, came his namesake Leonardo the 3rd.

These children are important because when you live as long as my dad did, you say goodbye to a lot of close friends and loved ones. Kids, his love and affection for each and every one of you preserved his sunny attitude to his very last day. He cherished visiting them often with donuts and putting a little cash in their hands. During our summers in Rhode Island, he would wake up early to get us the best beach spots. Among the many talents he brought home from the Navy were his short-order cooking. If you were lucky enough to have him feed you, and there were many you know the French toast was legendary, and whether you wanted your eggs scrambled, fried, poached, or over easy like he did, he always cooked them perfect.

He showed off his dance moves at Donna’s wedding and he loved Patrick like a son. So with that love, came opinions. One of the many was, “You spend all kinds of money, but you don’t turn up the heat for me.” Pat, you also chinsed on his favorite Western and Hallmark Channels.

As courageously as he gave away Donna, he was so heartbroken when Mary moved out - a whole two miles away. He had the most nicknames for Amy – some were - Amy Toothpaste, Amy Little Bit and Amy Do. There was also Crash Slam and Bam!

He loved my wife Heather like a daughter. Actually, maybe more because he never asked her to iron. Fortunately, that didn’t scare her away and neither did the fact that he did his exercise ritual wearing only his underwear the first time she came to Sunday dinner.

Close

I can’t tell you how thankful I am that the Santarsiero’s from Italy migrated to this great country. I’m gonna wrap this up now because I know he didn’t like long speeches. So, let’s keep telling Lenny stories. Especially all the ones not appropriate for church.

Never forgetting him – whether you knew him as Sonny, Lenny, Dad, Pop Pop or Mr. S. – will help us remember that being a gentleman and treating people with kindness and respect is the most important aspect of a man.

Dad, thank you for making everyone around you feel special for over 90 years.

Thank you for being so selfless and proving how meaningful it is to show up and be present for the ones you love.

We love you and will miss you. We'll take care of mom and stick together as your one big, often-times crazy, but forever happy family.

So long, Dad.