Leo Philip Leonelli, MD

1928 - 2011

Leo passed away May 23, 2011 in Cannon Beach, OR. Leo was born August 20, 1928 in Portland, OR. He was preceded in death by his parents, Luigi and Nicola (Ferrari) Leonelli and his sister, Leah (Barbur) of Portland, OR. He attended the University of Portland, and earned a medical degree from Creighton University in Omaha, NE in 1954. In 1953 he married the love of his life, Ruth Ann Mousel of Bancroft, IA, and together they raised 8 children: Laura (of Sacramento, CA), Stephen (of Cypress, CA), David (of San Pedro, CA), Lisa (Gallego, of Woodland, CA), Daniel (of Albuquerque, NM), Mark (of San Diego, CA), Melinda (Batty, of Hawthorne, CA) and Mia (McNamee, of San Jose, CA). Leo was a loving father in law to Janet (Chilleme), Mark Gallego, Stephen Batty, Elizabeth (Salz), Nella (Soto), Brian McNamee and Shirly (Erwin). He and Ruth enjoyed their large family and have been blessed with 22 grandchildren. Leo practiced family medicine in the South Bay area for 15 years. In 1968 he moved the family to Columbus, OH to attend Ohio State University where he completed a residency in aerospace medicine. The family returned to the South Bay in 1970 and Leo joined the emergency room staff at Torrance Memorial Hospital where he worked until 1990. He then became a flight surgeon with the Federal Aviation Administration, serving first in Los Angeles and later in Fort Worth, TX. He retired from medical practice in 2000. Leo generously gave his time and energy to his church community, and to the Catholic Worker health clinic in downtown Los Angeles. He was a devout and active parishioner of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in San Pedro. Funeral services will be held there on Wednesday, June 1 at 10:00 a.m. He will be laid to rest at Green Hills Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Alzheimer's Association. Please sign the guestbook for Leo at www.dailybreeze.com/obits.