Leonard "Lenny" Louis Palmeri, age 82, of Winneconne, died Sunday, July 8, 2018, at Bethel Home in Oshkosh. He was born February 28, 1936, in Rockford, Illinois to John Joseph and Elaine Palmeri, but was raised by his grandparents, Luciano and Rosalia Palmeri.
On February 7, 1976, he married Donna Abitz in Appleton and during their 42 years together they were blessed with two beautiful children (and their spouses) and 10 grandchildren. Having his family all together brought great joy to his life.
Lenny was a member of St. Paul's Ev. Lutheran Church, Winneconne. He grew up attending parochial school and he made sure his children also had faith-based educations.
Lenny honorably served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1953-1956. He was sent to Korea near the end of the Korean War, at the age of 17. He was there for 21 days before being wounded and sent back to the U.S. to complete his service. Lenny has always been proud of being a Marine, and went on an Honor Flight to Washington, DC in 2014. He not only served his country, he also spent his life in civil service. He worked for the Rockford Fire Department, Milwaukee Police Department, and the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Over his lifetime he enjoyed many activities. When much younger, he raced snowmobiles. He loved to fish and hunt, and did so all his adult life until about 10 years ago. Lenny golfed for many years, and he and Donna shared many golf trips with friends. He was a Packer fan and enjoyed attending games with his friend, Tom. Lenny and Donna enjoyed travel, especially their trip to Sicily and Italy in 2010. They have spent winters in Ft Myers, FL for the past 10 years. Lenny always looked forward to hosting his July 4 party with family and friends; he was able to be home for his final party this year and watched the "boys" shoot fireworks off of the dock.
Lenny is survived by his wife of 42 years, Donna Palmeri; his two children and ten grandchildren: Matthew (Shari) Palmeri, and their children, Gabriel, Sophia, Spencer, Arianna, and Jackson; Traci (Roy) Schwalbach, and their children, Cali, Taylor, Brenden, Griffin, and Eli. He is also survived by a sister, Rachel McFadden; sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, Lynn Koss, Laurel Mills, Shirley and Wayne Wiegand; and many other close friends and relatives.
Preceding Lenny in death were his parents; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Roland and Norma Abitz; brother-in-law, Michael McFadden; and a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Karen (Abitz) Dedering and John Dedering.
A visitation for family and friends will be on Thursday, July 12, 2018, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul's Ev. Lutheran Church, 8 S. Fourth St. Winneconne. A funeral service will be held on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. at the church with Pastor Ben Berger officiating. Burial with military honors will be in Highland Memorial Park, Appleton.
If you wish please submit online condolences to muellerfuneralhomeinc.com.