Leonard J. DeLorenzo Obituary

Cleaning the kitchen was not one of Leonard DeLorenzo's gifts, but cooking the meal that made a mess of it certainly was. He cooked for kids in the neighborhood, he cooked for his friends, he cooked for the homeless, and he cooked time and time again for his two sons and their families. There is a certain quality of chicken parmigiana, of biscotti, of sautéed broccoli rabe that will never again be tasted this side of the heavenly banquet. The garlic industry has lost its most loyal customer as the DeLorenzo family mourns their beloved father and grandfather, uncle and brother. All will be slimmer without him.

Len spent his childhood in Nutley, New Jersey, and his teenage and early adult years Down the Shore. He married Deejay after college at Rider University and together they had two sons who replaced their two Afghan hounds, who proved incompatible with toddlers who thought it was funny to poke them (before they found out it wasn't). He worked in sales and management for the billboard giant Gannett Outdoor, then a racing boat company, then a multimedia advertising company. His passion was never in sales, though: the man loved to cook. He was a mama's boy, who spent time with his mother Dorothy in the kitchen while his father, Louis, was fighting fires and building houses. His big sister, Nora, spent hours and hours laughing with him and at him, and with her husband Harold, loved him both as a brother and as the uncle for their own children: Luke and Jessica.

When his marriage ended, Len took up the great mission of his life: raising his two young boys from the age of 7 and 3, respectively. He moved with his sons to Southern California, where he raised them in overpriced housing he could never afford and drove them all over the state for soccer tournaments (California is a big state). He sometimes described his own household as "three boys with no adult supervision.". He was not entirely wrong in this assessment. Len was the boy who never grew up, and yet, paradoxically, carried responsibility that exceeded all expectations and was only grasped by the few closest to him. He was often the only dad on the PTA at elementary schools and would have been unanimously voted his sons' friends favorite parent. He was, for large stretches of his life, a daily Mass goer.

Len was perhaps happiest at the beach, sitting on a chair in the sand, listening to the waves crash in front of him while he tanned with preternatural ease. But he also loved doing things for people. He was kind and generous. It was nearly impossible not to love him. He leaves behind him a great wake of people indebted to and grateful for him.

For the last 19 years of his life, he loved being a grandfather. His grandkids all called him "Papi". The name suited him. He also manned the south end zone upper bowl section of Notre Dame stadium as an usher. He liked helping… and he figured out how to get into football games for free.

Len is preceded in death by his mother Dorothy and his father Louis. He is survived by his sister Nora and her husband Harold, along with his nephew Luke and his niece Jessica. His two sons, whom he poured himself into raising, have become dads themselves, and have nearly recovered from the kitchen messes they spent their childhoods cleaning up—a small price to pay for all the great meals they enjoyed and the school lunches that were packed for them… well into their teenage years. His elder son Leonard II (Lenny) and daughter-in-law Lisa are parents to six of Papi's grandkids: Caleb (19), Felicity (17), Josiah (13), Isaac (11), Gianna (8), and Siena (6). His younger son Stefan and daughter-in-law Samantha are parents to Papi's youngest two grandkids: Landon (6) and Brooke (2).

He will also be remembered for having a great mustache.

A Funeral Service will be held 11:00 a.m. Monday, May 26, 2025 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 63568 U.S. 31 South, Lakeville, Indiana 46536, with visitation one hour prior to services. Palmer Funeral Homes - River Park Chapel is assisting the family with arrangements.