Teresa Ellen Leonetti

Teresa E. Leonetti

(March 30, 1927 - December 2, 2018)

Teresa Ellen McLaughlin was born on March 30, 1927 in Philadelphia, PA and raised in the town of Chester, PA by James and Ellen McLaughlin. She lived in the family home until her marriage to Henry (Hank) Leonetti on October 6, 1951. After marrying Hank, she took his name of Leonetti.

Hank and Teresa lived in the Philadelphia area for seven years and ultimately moved to Long Beach, California in 1958. They settled in the East Long Beach area, near St. Cornelius Catholic Church where they were active in parish activities. They raised two children, James and Mary, and lived in their Long Beach home for nearly 40 years. After retiring from the U.S. Navy, Hank served for many years as a postal carrier in the East Long Beach area. In addition to being a homemaker, Teresa worked at several local department stores before joining Long Beach Unified School District, where she worked until her retirement.

After retiring, Teresa and Hank moved from their long-time home in Long Beach to live in the Seal Beach community of Leisure World. Teresa really enjoyed her retirement years and spent her time traveling, playing cards, playing the slot machines, cooking & baking, and time with her family. She and Hank were very devoted to their six grandchildren who were the pride and delight of their lives: James’ children are Daniel, Thomas, and Nicole Leonetti; and Mary’s children are Jason, Michelle, and Melissa Spaulding. Teresa and Hank were a constant presence at their grandchildren’s many sporting events and other school activities. Teresa enjoyed cooking, baking, playing cards, and playing chess with her granddaughters and grandsons. Teresa was very proud of her grandchildren and spoke highly of them every chance she was allotted. Teresa would often comment that the reason that her grandchildren were all so smart and so good looking was because “they were just like her”.

Teresa had many interests. She was very proud of her Irish heritage and enjoyed researching the genealogy of her family history. She was very happy and excited to travel to the area in Western Ireland where her family had lived prior to coming to the United States. While generally not interested in sports, she was an avid fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. Her love of Notre Dame had much to do with her Irish heritage as she did not attend that university.

Teresa and Hank also enjoyed traveling, and especially liked taking cruises together and with their friends. In addition to cruising, she also enjoyed playing the slot machines in Las Vegas and would often speak of the many hours spent at the machines.

On August 23, 2012, and after nearly 61 years of marriage, Henry was taken from earth up to heaven.  After Hank’s passing, Teresa continued to play cards with her friends and go to the various Southern California Casinos to gamble at the slot machines and to attend family gatherings. She enjoyed being with her grandchildren and great grandchildren: Jake, Daphne, Joey, and Oliver.

On December 2, 2018, after 91 years of a full life on this earth, she passed to join her husband in heaven. Her memorial service is on Saturday, December 15, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Cornelius Catholic Church in Long Beach, CA. She will be laid to her final resting place in National Cemetery, in Riverside, CA next to her husband, Henry, at a later date.

T eresa is survived by her two children, six grandchildren and six great grandchildren: Jake, Daphne, Joey Spaulding and Oliver Gomez. The additional 2 great grandchildren, which she was very excited about, are due to be born in February 2019. She is also survived by numerous other relatives that she loved and cared for very much.

Luyben Dilday Mortuary (562) 425-6401