Obituary of Leonard G Ricci

Leonard G. Ricci, age 87, of North Wilmington, DE, passed away peacefully on September 22, 2024 at Forwood Manor. Born in Chester and raised in Linwood, PA, Len has resided in Wilmington for over 60 years. After graduating from Chichester High School in 1955, Len ventured to West Chester University where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation (with an automatic minor in Science) and, after beginning his 32 year teaching career (Warner Junior High School, Springer Junior High School, Talley Junior High School), he received  his Master's in Education from the University of Delaware.  After serving as a science teacher in the early years of his career, he became one of the founding special education teachers in the state of Delaware and continued in that role until he retired in 1991.

In 1959, his first year at Warner, Len met Theresa “Tess”  Ciconte,“a nice Italian girl,” who would, just a year later, become his wife.  During their 54 years of marriage, they raised 4 children, welcomed 8 grandchildren and created an atmosphere of love, respect and integrity.  Not wanting his family to be deprived of anything, Len took on several jobs–he was the long time pool manager for Holiday Hills Swim Club; he started, owned and operated his own pool company, Ricci Pool Service (he and Tess wanted to ensure that all 4 of their children would go to college, and they wanted to pay for all of it), and, after purchasing a lot in Rehoboth Beach in 1967 (after obtaining a loan of $2,000 from his brother-in-law), he built a beach house in 1974 that, in addition to serving as a rental property for a number of years (to further supplement the education fund), served as his own personal pride and joy–and a favorite gathering place for his entire family and their friends.  A skilled, self taught craftsman who could seemingly fix and build anything, Len made furniture, crafted step stools and toys, finished basements, built porches and deftly handled any maintenance projects that family members or friends needed help with.

An avid, often suffering Phillies and Eagles fan, Len also enjoyed history, reading, traveling, spending time at his beach house in Rehoboth, all sports (especially baseball), officiating high school football (32 years) and his weekly lunches with his lifelong friends.  He loved family dinners, telling stories, learning about other people, crossword puzzles and sitting on the porch, but his true passion was doing anything and everything with Tess and their 8 grandchildren, Gina, Coley, Jonathan, Jake, Sam, Matthew, Theresa and Natalie.  When Gina and Coley were born, Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop started the tradition of spending a different afternoon each week with two of their grandchildren, so that each of them was able to develop his/her own special “routine” with them. Because of that, they were able to create a lifetime of loving memories.  Their weekly time together, though, was just a precursor for the time they would dedicate to their beloved grandkids.  Like they did for their own four children, they attended EVERY sporting event, music concert, Grandparents’ Day, banquet, holiday program, award ceremony, graduation, etc.--no matter what the kids were involved in and no matter where it was, it was a virtual certainty that Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop would be there.  For the past nine years, Pop Pop found comfort and joy in filling the void left by losing Mom-Mom by wholeheartedly supporting his eight grandchildren–and telling anybody who would listen–about their athletic exploits at GV or various colleges.

In addition to his parents, Leonard and Carmelia George Ricci, he is preceded in death by his wife, Theresa Ciconte Ricci who died in 2015, and 2 brothers, Robert and Michael Ricci. Leonard is survived by his 4 children, Michael (Connie) Ricci (Jonathan, Matthew, Theresa and Natalie, Linda (Milt) Morin (Jake and Sam), Patrick "Peej" (Donna) Ricci (Gina Copestick (Bill) and Coley), and Gary (Olivia) Ricci (Mikayla and Alex).  For more than 80 years, Len shared an extraordinary bond with his closest friends, Moe DeFrank, Jack Reynolds, Ron Grant and Donny Miller, a brotherhood that lasted a lifetime. Their friendship, filled with countless memories and unwavering support, was a testament to the power of loyalty, laughter, and love (and good food!).  Len’s family would like to thank the always kind, always caring, always professional staff at Forwood Manor for their exemplary care.

  A viewing will be held on Wednesday evening, 6-9 PM at the Pagano Funeral Home, 3711 Foulk Rd., Garnet Valley, PA and an additional viewing will be held at the Church of the Holy Child, 2500 Naamans Road, Wilmington, DE, on Thursday from 10-10:45 AM, followed by a Funeral Mass promptly at 11 AM.  Interment, Lawn Croft Cemetery, Linwood, PA. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.paganofuneralhome.com