Richard "Dick" Leuliette

Richard "Dick" Leuliette, age 85, of Townsend, DE, passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 19, 2025. Dick was a person who lived his life in friendship and service. He loved the simple things in life which he considered the most important things; spending time with people, creating community, a good meal, a beautiful sunset, singing in choral groups, eating steamed crabs and corn on the cob, and so much more.
Born in Cleveland, OH on July 19, 1939, he was the only child of the late Elmer and Adele (Dengler) Leuliette. As a child he lived in Texas, Morristown, NJ, and Moorestown, NJ. He graduated from Moorestown High School in 1958. In 2006, Dick moved to Delaware to be a part of a new community and loved greeting new people as they moved into Legacy.
Dick joined the United States Coast Guard in 1957 and served until April 1963. He loved his time of service in New York Harbor on a tugboat and loved telling stories about the experiences he had. He proudly wore his Coast Guard hat and told people he had a great time serving when they thanked him for his service.
Dick's father founded PLAS-TI-CON in 1955, a business which manufactured concrete pipe. Dick was the second owner until closing the family business in 1994. During his time with the business, Dick was an active member in the American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA) and served as National Chairman of the Board from 1979-1980. With ACPA, he traveled to many parts of the world to study concrete pipe production.
Service to community was important to Dick and was always a big part of his life. Volunteer fire fighting was a part of Dick's family. He was a Life Member of Relief Engine and Moorestown Fire Department and served over 50 years. While living in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, Dick continued his volunteer fire fighting work and became a commissioner for the Mt. Laurel Fire Department. During that time, he helped to expand the fire services and rebuild a firehouse. It was, also, with great pride that he told people that his youngest son, Lance, was a professional firefighter in Georgia and that his oldest son, Grant, is now a commissioner for the Moorestown Fire Department.
Becoming a Rotarian was a large part of Dick's life of service as well. In 1986, he co-founded the Moorestown Breakfast Rotary Club and enjoyed, to the fullest extent, the time he served that organization. When moving to New Castle County in 2006, Dick sought out the Southern New Castle County Rotary and loved working with its membership. There were so many friends and opportunities to help.
Habitat for Humanity was yet another way that Dick found a way to help and serve others. Before moving to Delaware, he was part of a group that established a Habitat Resale Store in Cinnaminson, New Jersey. Once in Delaware, he became very active in the building part of Habitat in Wilmington and Middletown. He just loved giving the time, making new friends and providing a new opportunity for others.
As a teenager until recently, being a part of a choir or a choral group was important. Singing just made him feel good about life but, even more important, was being a part of a group working together to make something sound beautiful. It spoke to his soul and many times he would have tears in his eyes from pure enjoyment of the experience.
Dick was a ten-year member of the Volunteer Show Corp. for the Grand Opera House and the Playhouse on Rodney Square in Wilmington, Delaware, until this year as his health would not permit him to continue. He loved talking to the people as he seated them.
Dick was an eighteen-year member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Odessa, where he sang in the choir and could always be found in the kitchen helping out. Covered Dish affairs were a favorite.
Dick was a part of the Friends of Zoar and the renovation project they are undertaking, He was willing to do what he could because he thought it was an important part of the community's history.
Dick was married to Eleanore "Ellie" Burdett-Leuliette in January 2001 and they established a blended family. Their children and spouses, Grant, Christine, Lance, Susanne, Cyndi, and Andy; their grandchildren, Geoffrey and Bridget, Lexi and Ryan, Kyle, Sarah; and their great-grandchildren, Colton and Cooper will miss him more than words can express as he made sure that each of them felt special in their own way. He was so proud of each of them and excited for each of them as they have taken steps in their own lives.
Dick's first celebration of life will begin at 11 am on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 406 Main Street, Odessa, DE. A second celebration of life will begin at noon on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at the Lenola Fire Hall, 229 North Lenola Road, Moorestown, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dick's memory to St. Paul's United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 253, Odessa, DE 19730-0253; or to the Parkinson's Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Ste 1509, New York, NY 10018, or online at https://www.parkinson.org/?form=19983