Leroy Francis Walling Jr.

Leroy Francis Walling, Jr. peacefully passed on February 1, 2025, in the loving presence of family. Predeceased by his parents, Leroy Francis Walling and Mary Margaret DeHart Walling, as well as his doting older sister Mary Margaret ("Penny") Buchner, Lee completes in heaven the family that was happily grown on the banks of the Jersey Shore.
Born on October 22, 1944, in Neptune, NJ, "Lee" as he was known to most, was a bright and precocious boy, with mischievous side that was balanced by his early devotion to the Church and a perfect attendance record at Sunday School. Lee was educated through the public school system in Monmouth County, for which his mother "Marge" worked as a Board of Education secretary for many years. After graduating from Manasquan High School, Lee completed several semesters of chemical engineering at NJIT in Newark, before being drafted into the United States Marine Corps in 1966, during the Vietnam War. It was by the Corps that Lee was first recognized for his exceptional aptitude and unique talent for computer operations; Lee was the only member of his graduated battalion who was not deployed overseas and held back to assist the Armed Forces with data programming.
Reaching the rank of Sergeant during his two years of active duty, Lee was Honorably Discharged in 1972. He was hired thereafter by New Jersey Bell Telephone as a computer programming specialist. Lee continued to work for and rise through the ranks of New Jersey Bell until his retirement in 2005. In April 1972, Lee had his first and only child, Meredith Alexis Walling, by whom he is survived and through whom his memory lives. Meredith and her spouse, John P. Leonard, blessed Lee with two adoring grandchildren, Grayson James and Madeleine Leigh, in 2008, by whom he is also survived and will be desperately missed. He is predeceased by his grandson, Jack William, who will be fortunate to join his siblings in knowing his "Pop Pop" now.
While Lee's childhood was a happy one and his early adulthood was marked by the distinction of his invaluable service to the country and the birth of his daughter, it is said that his "best life" began in 1975, when he met the acquaintance of one Geraldine Castellano at New Jersey Bell. Geraldine and Leroy's whirlwind romance resulted in the most fortunate of unions on September 14, 1980, when the two were married at the Grace Presbyterian Church in Montclair, NJ, in the presence of both their respective families. From that day forward, Lee was as much a Castellano as he was a Walling, embraced as one of their own by Geraldine's parents, Gerard and Angelina, her sisters Marianne and Angela, and her brother, Gerald, and dearly cherished by his many nieces and nephews born of the siblings' respective unions.
If tempered in his early life by parental influence and military circumstance, Lee's sense of fun and love of adventure was teased out by Geraldine. Together, the couple traveled throughout the country, and spent only the rare weekend without an outing or social engagement with their enormous network of family and friends. With Geraldine as the driving force, every holiday, anniversary or important event was made special by the inclusion of family and/or friends, and usually a costume or a hat! From weddings to christenings, birthdays to backyard parties, Lee and Geraldine were there to celebrate - and Geraldine ALWAYS brought the camera! If they couldn't be with you on a day that was special to you, the occasion was acknowledged by a card AND a telephone call, with both of them on the line, singing together to celebrate you. Lee laughed and pranked and juggled - literally - through his life with his "Gerri," and always acknowledged his good fortune to have caught hold and hung on to her for the almost fifty years they were together. Survived in this life by Geraldine, these memories are held safe and sacred and join those of Lee's other surviving family to complete the lore of a life well lived and a man well loved.
In addition to his wife Geraldine, his daughter Meredith and her husband John, Lee is survived by his grandchildren, Madeleine and Grayson, his nephews Kevin, Keith and Karl Torchia, as well as his brother-in-law Gerald, his wife, Michelle, his sister-in-law Angela and husband, Frank. Gerald's and Michelle's children, Justin, Austin, Angelina and Emily were enamored of their "Uncle Lee," and he of them, and he will be dearly missed by them. Predeceased by Geraldine's sister Marianne and Angela's son, David, Lee is also survived by Angela's and Frank's children, Kyle and Alexis.
A Visitation will be held on Friday, February 7, 2025, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Tuttle Funeral Home, 272 NJ-10, Randolph, NJ, and prayers will be offered in Lee's honor and in support of his family and friends from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made in in Lee's memory to the First Presbyterian Church of Newton, 54 High Street in Newton, NJ 07860. Letters of condolence may be sent through the web at www.tuttlefh.com.
A subsequent Memorial Funeral Service will be held on February 28, 2025, at the Witzke Funeral Home, 5555 Twin Knolls Road, in Columbia, Maryland, where Lee and Gerri resided for the past 32 years.