Leo Letendre

Leo Letendre Leo Letendre passed away on December 27, 2008 at his daughter's home in Bluffton, SC. Leo was born in 1934, the youngest of three children in Fall River, MA. As a youth he was a Golden Gloves flyweight boxer, but he found it difficult to hurt the opponents, so his boxing career was short lived. Leo loved to follow boxing but fishing and boating were his lifelong passions. He enjoyed his trips to Las Vegas and loved to gamble for the fun of it. He entered the Air Force at 17 and always credited his experiences while in the service as a major force in making him the man he was to become. He attended the University of Hartford on his GI Bill and was later employed by United Technologies in CN and went on to work in the Heavy Military division of General Electric in Syracuse, NY. Throughout Leo's life he was a true entrepreneur. His first business was a jazz bar in North Syracuse, NY. With his partner, Joe Corso, he went on to buy three more entertainment establishments. In the meantime, he founded his own Manufacturer's Representative business, selling hybrid circuits and later he worked with an electronics group out of Rochester, NY. His motto was work is good for the soul and he was still working at 74 years old when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He and his family ran a prominent storage facility in Bluffton. Leo's sense of humor was well known and he loved to play practical jokes. He spent his life always finding the good in people. He moved to Hilton Head in 1999 after living in cold northern states. He said he would never go back. Three of his daughters followed him south, Laura (Larry) Mathis of Dayton, OH, Janelle (Ben) Judson of Syracuse, NY and Louise (Scott) Barnholdt of Liverpool, NY. Leo's second to the oldest daughter, Anita (Bill) Rogers lives in Hopkinton, MA. Leo was married twice. Laura and Anita's mother, Josephine Letendre resides in North Syracuse, NY. He also leaves his second wife, Maureen, who lived in Sun City. There are five grandchildren, Christopher and Amanda Rogers and Zoe and Max Barnholdt and Riley Judson. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Saint Andrew's Chapel on Pickney Colony Road on Saturday, June 27th, 2009 at 10:00 am. Friends will gather at 20 Station Loop, Bluffton, SC following the service.