Leonard Edward Smoler

1932 - 2025

Leonard Edward Smoler
With deep sadness and abiding love, the family of Leonard Edward Smoler announced that he passed away on September 22, 2025, at the age of 93, with his beloved wife of 49 years, the artist Diane M. Smoler (née Betts), at his side. The underlying cause was heart failure. The one-time resident of Scarsdale, NY, Ridgefield, CT, and Sarasota, FL, is also survived by his children Karen Heller (Douglas), Robert Smoler (Elizabeth), and Nancy Smoler (Austin); his grandchildren Rebecca (Peter), Scott (Kaoru), Michelle (Alvaro), Isaac (Isabel), and Lionel; his great-grandchildren Zooey, Tallulah, Hana, and Kenshin; and a loving network of relatives in Diane's family. His son Matthew pre-deceased him. The youngest of the five children of Rose and Maurice Smoler, Lenny was born on August 5, 1932, in Chicago but was raised in the Bronx. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army, and then spent his career at Smoler Brothers, Inc., a women's apparel manufacturer, where he worked with his father and brothers: Sidney, Jerry, Irwin, and Abbey. Universally popular, Lenny was a diehard Cubs fan, an avid reader, and a supporter of liberal causes and the arts. Upon retirement, he moved to Florida, where he thrived playing duplicate bridge, golf, and competitive tennis, and where he was a member of the Board of Governors of The Oaks Golf and Country Club of Osprey. But he will be remembered mostly for his and Diane's great love story, his devotion to family and friends, his optimism, and his gratitude for every day of his life. To honor Lenny, the family suggests planting a tree as a living tribute.