Leonard M Ciliento

Leonard “Lennie/Len” M. Ciliento, 76, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, passed away on Wednesday, November 3, 2021. As with every moment in his life since 1963, his devoted wife Rosemary, along with their three children, was lovingly by his side.

Len was born in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1945 to Constantino “Michael” and Francis “Nannie Chick” Ciliento. He was raised in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, with his older sister Connie and two younger brothers, John and Bobby. In 1965 he married Rosemary (Russo). Together they brought up their three children Lori Anne, Nicole, and Lennie in Rutherford, New Jersey, before moving to Hilton Head, South Carolina, in 1995. Shortly after arriving, he opened up Leonard’s Haircutting II on the south end of the island and could be found there cutting hair, transferring guns, and selling ammunition up until the summer of 2021.

Depending on who you are, he was either Leonard, Lennie, Len, Dad/Daddy, or Papa. And if you asked someone how they knew him, they might reply that he was a friend, a Parishioner, a Knight of Columbus, a shooting buddy, their barber, their gun broker, their gunsmith, a customer from their restaurant, a father-figure. To his children he was Dad or Daddy, and to his ten grandchildren: Adam, Victoria, Tyler, Matthew, Noah (Polly), Jacob, Ryan, Kaitlyn, Jude, and Lucy, he was Papa.

Leonard M. Ciliento served his community as a talented barber for nearly 60 years; he served his country from 1965-1971; he served the firearms community by ensuring timely and safe transfers of guns and ammunition; he served his friends by listening to the stories of their lives and genuinely caring about what happened to them; and he served his family by the simple act of being present. Leonard had more than enough interests, activities, and hobbies to last many, many lifetimes, but the fact is he would lay down anything that was in his best interest in order to serve the needs of his friends and family.

The irony of Leonard’s life is this: How did a man whose body slowly stripped the physical life out of him for three decades retain a soul, a spirit, a presence that was still larger than life? How do people he had not seen in decades report that there’s a part of them that felt he was “like a father to them” because of something he did for them or how he treated them, either recently or at some other time in their lives? The truth is, it’s a lesson in quality, not quantity. It doesn’t take the course of a lifetime to change or influence a life; it only takes a well-meaning and genuine moment. These types of moments, these interactions, define the authentic life of one: Leonard M. Ciliento.

A funeral Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church (24 Pope Ave, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928) will be held on Saturday, Nov. 13th at 10:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude’s Hospital at Donate now to St. Jude and help kids fighting cancer - St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org