My Parents and Brother Have Blessed Me…I Try to Pass on That Blessing

Beloved family photo of my Grandmother, Maria, with the Sacred Heart statue I still keep in my home.

Leonard has been a generous donor to Sacred Heart League and Sacred Heart Southern Missions since 1981. A retired Air Force officer, Len was also a professional soccer player, a banker, and a special education teacher. For the past five years Len has devoted himself to caring for his Mom and Dad in their final illnesses.

Mom suffered with lymphoma for 21 months before her death in 2008 and Dad followed her in 2010. “It was a long 5 years,” says Len who cared for them by himself the first year and a half and then with the help of his younger brother and hospice. “I’m grateful I could spend the last two years with my dad.”

Leonard’s love for the Sacred Heart is rooted in the faith of his family. “The Sacred Heart statue that has been in our family over 40 years,” is pictured here with Leonard’s grandmother Maria. “I keep her statue of the Sacred Heart in my home in a place of honor.”

My parents, Michael and Leonora, my brother Michael and myself on the right on Mother’s Day 2008

Len’s grandmother and mother were both members of the Sacred Heart Auto League and passed on to him an appreciation for Sacred Heart Southern Missions' outreach to the poor and two Catholic schools. “I feel like I’m contributing,” says Len, “I feel my donations are appreciated.”

In a note sent with the pictures for this article, Len says, “An article about me wouldn’t be possible without my parents and brother who have blessed me over the years. I try to pass on that blessing because of their kindness and generosity.”