The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York), November 16, 2006, Thursday

Copyright 2006 Post-Standard
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York)

November 16, 2006 Thursday
CAYUGA EDITION

SECTION: NEIGHBORS CAYUGA; Ormie King's Legends; Pg. 6

HEADLINE: THE LAWYER WHO LOVED BOLOGNA SANDWICHES

BYLINE: By Ormie King Contributing writer

BODY:
Thomas "Tucker" Leone was born March 15, 1927, at 28 Barber St., Auburn. If anyone can be called a Legend in Auburn, then Tucker is right up there.
He won't tell what his real middle name is, but I asked him how he got the nickname of "Tucker."
He replied, "It's like this, did you ever hear the little ditty that goes "Little Tommy Tucker sang for his supper'?" That's enough said about that!
Tucker's mom was Rachel Socci, a homemaker. His dad was Gaetano Leone, who worked for Hammond & Irving, and ran a grocery store at Clark and Washington streets. The family home was at 28 Barber St.
He had four brothers: John "Chew" Leone was a Red Star truck driver and his wife, Stella, was a homemaker.
Next came Angelo "Pepper" Leone, who ran Pepper's Liquor Store on West Genesee Street for decades. He was named after "Pepper" Martin of the St. Louis Cardinals. Like his namesake, "Pepper" was a very good Auburn athlete who played shortstop for the strong Roman's Club softball team. His wife, Rose, also was a homemaker.
The next brother was Anthony "Gunner" or "Gunboat" Leone, who worked at Alco until he retired. He also was a boxer for Ray Kahl at the Garden Street Arena. He got his nickname, "Gunboat," after an old-time boxer named "Gunboat" Smith. His wife, Evelyn, was a homemaker.
Last comes Lawrence Leone, who represents the last living brother besides Tucker. He lives in West Palm Beach, Fla., and is a retired Met Life Insurance salesman. His wife, Sophie, was the office manager for Francis Gormley's Oil Co. in Auburn.
Tucker is one of Auburn's outstanding all-around athletes. For anyone who has watched his grandson Zach Prentice play for Auburn High School, it is like looking at a clone of Tucker in his younger day.
Tucker said he learned how to play ball by playing street ball on Barber Street and then moving on to the Dunn & McCarthy's parking lot where many athletes from the West end honed their skills. Later Tucker moved to the West High playground where he met many of his boyhood friends. It was Earl Munson, at Neighborhood House, who taught him how to shoot one-handed set shots.
When Tucker was 5, he attended Seymour Street School. He continued there through the sixth grade, and went to West High and finally to East High from which he graduated in 1945.
Tucker was a star athlete who played four years of AHS basketball and was a pure shooting guard with great hands. His coaches were William "Ki" Young and Harold "Ollie" Button.
He had teammates like Joe Glenn, Louis Marino and Ciro LoCastro. He recalled his worst game saying that they played Syracuse Vocational at Syracuse Central. When he arrived he found out they were playing on a stage with a three-foot dropoff and he had to guard Pat Stark, who went on to become SU's star quarterback. Tucker said all he could think about was going off that stage while playing.
Vocational opened up with a full-court press and it was quickly 21 to 2 and 36 to 12 at halftime. Tucker said he must have taken 42 shots and made two. Believe me, Tucker went on to have many wins in his career.
Tucker played football as a quick-footed quarterback under the same two coaches.
He played with Hank Giusti, Bobby Brown, Mike Kott, Frank "Desperate" Mastropietro, Al "Hunky" Nicholas, Ray Redmond and Ted "Squirt" Wawro.
After graduation, Tucker went on to Bullis Prep School in Silver Springs, Md., which was a Naval Academy/West Point Prep School.
He made the all-prep team in the Washington, D.C., area that year as they defeated both the Army and Navy plebes. Two of his schoolmates were Auburnian's Nick Rossi and John Ragucci, who later was killed World War II.
Baseball scout Neil Mahoney, of the Boston Red Sox, showed an interest in Tucker and recommended him to "Specks" McFadden, the baseball coach at Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, N.H., and also a former Red Sox pitcher. Because of the war they only played two games.
Former county attorney Bernie Donaghue, of Auburn, played football there also. The following year, Adam Walsh, who the year before coached the L.A. Rams to the NFL championship, took over as coach at Bowdoin. Tucker became a halfback and played against Amherst, Williamson, Tufts, New Hampshire, Colby and Bates colleges. He also played basketball for Bowdoin.
Tucker had a star-studded softball career locally playing shortstop for the powerhouse Romans team as well as their semi-pro basketball team. They played all the top teams in Central New York and won several city championships.
Tucker joined the Army in July 1946, and was sent to Fort McLenathan in Alabama where he took up boxing because he didn't want to do KP duty. The rounds lasted two minutes and Tucker readily admits they were some of the longest two minutes of his life and boxing was the toughest sport of all.
He then went to Korea in the infantry for a year and a half. He landed at Inchon where he met his Auburn buddy Dick "Spider" Ganey. He later caught up with another good friend, Bob "Bo" Fanelli, at Fort Lawton where he slept on the top bunk which he described as a Hindu bed of nails. Tucker got out of the Army and went back to Bowdoin and got three years credits in two years by going summers and taking an accelerated program. He graduated in 1950.
He became a Phillip Morris salesman for two years until he got a job with General Electric in Auburn.
Tucker first met Jean Adams when he was at his dad's grocery store. He saw her walking by from Dunn & McCarthy's while she was on her lunch break.
He knew that this was "the girl." He picked her up one day in his yellow Ford convertible that he bought with money he made shooting dice on the ship that brought him home.
On Jan. 3, 1953, he and Jean were married at Sacred Heart Church. They first lived at North and York streets.
He was a claims adjuster for Hardware Mutual from 1954 to 1958, when he left to enter law school at Syracuse University.
He got out in 1961 and practiced with Bill McKeon's law office. He also worked nights at Alco while waiting the results of the bar exam.
He passed, and they bought a house at 68 Elizabeth St. Jean worked at Auburn Memorial Hospital and GE as a receptionist.
She also ran a gift store with Sue Rossi, Barbara Kahl and Jeannine Schnurr called the Crimson Cricket which was located where Yesteryears restaurant is today.
The family started to grow as Michele and Tom Jr. came along.
Michele Ann is married to Tom "Ollie" Prentice, a fine Auburn athlete himself. Tom is a retired lieutenant from Butler Correctional and Michele is a registered nurse with the Harriet Tubman Center.
They have three children: Andrew, a graduate of Clarkson and network administrator for the Syracuse office of Medical Malpractice Co. He is single. Zach Prentice thrilled Auburn High fans for the past four years with his athletic exploits and he has a scholarship playing baseball at Lake City, Fla., Community College. His team is made up of nine draftees for major league baseball. A large thanks to Auburn's Mark DelPiano, who helped him get there.
His son, Tom Jr., is the Auburn corporation counsel, a graduate of Franklin Pierce College in Concord, N.H. and ran successfully for Cayuga County Court judge in this fall's election. His wife is the former Debra Leario, a teacher's aide at West High.
Tom Jr. commuted every week for three years and received his certificate from Cornell University for labor relations. He worked Saturdays and Sundays at Stott & Davis.
They have three children: Caitlin is a sophomore at William Smith College who plays lacrosse. Thomas John "T.J." Leone is an assistant manager at Pepper's Liquor and is going back to school. Marissa is a sophomore at AHS as well as a drum majorette with the Auburn Maroons Vanguard band.
Tucker is a member of a law firm made up of himself; George Shayler; Jim Leone, son of his brother, "Shum;" and longtime friend John Rossi.
Rossi said Tucker loves to talk about finances and his favorite saying is "When you spend it, it is gone!'
Tucker loves to reminisce about growing up on Barber Street where he hung out with "Bushie" and "Baggie" Fedele and loves to recall who lived in each house between Derby Avenue and Washington Street and some of their nicknames such as "Pepper," "Gunner" and "Shum" Leone, "Doc" Mazzeo, "Horn" Trillo, "Totsey" DeBenedetto, "Ducky" Testa, "Foggey" Colella, "Smokey" Joe Ventafido, "Stag" Stallone, "Duffy" Donofrio, "Butch" Tisci, "Chink" Colella, "Cisco" Basile, "Tut" Muscia, "Muley" Jerome, "Bisso" LoBisco, "Blitz" Mazzeo, "Fox" Donofrio, "Steaky" Testa, "Butchie" LoBisco, "Deuce" Trillo, "Fuego" Colella, "Andy Gump" Izzo, "Motor Boat" Morabito, "Nico" DeBenedetto, "Bomber" Fiermonte, "Nudgie" Munnari, "Mowga" Testa and "Johnny Mack" DeStefano.
Rossi said Tucker joined the firm in 1962 and on his first day asked for the day off and left for a ski trip to the Alps with his friend, Dr. Henry Romano.
Tucker, never having been on skis in his life, proceeded to break two ribs in his first attempt. John said it's been all down hill ever since.
John said, "In the legal world, Tucker always told the judges north of Weedsport in October to "give me a good deal for my clients now because once the snow flies, you won't see me until spring.' Tucker got real good deals. Ho! ho! ho!"
John really laughs when he recalls when Tucker bought a solid yellow BMW and took such a ribbing about it as they referred to Tucker as a cab driver. Tucker had it painted black.
Tucker says he has enjoyed being an attorney and trying to help people out with everyday problems of life, but deep down he really wanted to become a physical education teacher and coach basketball and football. Had he done so, I'm sure he would have been a great one.
I noted to Tucker that more than 40 years have passed and the office runs very smoothly, which he attributed a lot to Carrie Norton, the office manager and secretary, who formerly worked in the Pentagon and now lives in Weedsport. She makes sure the office runs smoothly.
He added that a lot of credit goes to Shayler, who can be seen daily tidying up the office and dragging the trash to the curb on trash day.
On July 28, 2004, the love of Tucker's life passed away after a long illness. It was certainly one of the largest wakes I have attended in Auburn which is a tribute to Jean, Tucker and their family.
Tucker said, "Any class that I have ever had in my life was attributed to my wife, Jean. She was the epitome of everything in life that is good."
Here is what his son, Tom Jr., had to say: "I am amazed at how many people's lives my father has touched. No matter where I go, whether in Auburn, in Cayuga County or in various parts of New York state, someone knows him. Even more amazing, these people don't just know him, they are quick to share a story about him, mostly about his quick wit and his kindness.
"My father is a man who in his almost 80 years on earth has never said an unkind word about anyone and is always there to help those individuals less fortunate than him.
"I am very proud of my father. From very humble beginnings, he and my mother worked hard to provide a better life for his family. My father became a lawyer the hard way. He went to law school after my sister and I were born and worked two jobs at the same time. He never forgot any of the people that helped him get through those tough times.
"My father has always been there for his family, friends and even strangers who may need a hand. He is truly my best friend. My only hope is that I can be half the man he is.
"Most of Auburn knows my father will not ride an elevator by himself. It doesn't matter if it's going up or down. This is most notable at the County Office Building where he will pull just about anybody in the elevator with him for a ride. Once you're in, there is no telling what the conversation may be.
"My father was a frequent visitor to the Cayuga County jail at lunch time when it was located on Court Street. Although Auburn had many fine eateries, my father had a penchant for their bologna sandwiches that they served to inmates. In fact, to this day, when he speaks about the good old days, the bologna sandwiches are likely to be mentioned."
To Tucker and his entire family, we thank you all for being Legends of Auburn!
Ormie King's Local History Room, with its several thousand photos and news clips, is open for your pleasure and reminiscing at the Cayuga Community College Library. For information and library hours, call 255-1743, ext. 2296.
Around Auburn
Get-well wishes to Kim Corcoran, Marge Winters and Elizabeth Berg.
Happy 103rd birthday to Fanny Trinca, and 101st to Florence Hendricks.
Happy birthday to Avis Ball, Jacob Barr, Ann McKeon, the Rev. Louis Vasile, Helen Dudek, Kaitlyn Hlywa, Sue Chandler and Sarah Benham.
Happy 63rd anniversary to Win and Harry Lawford and happy 61st to Sarah and John Wachna.
Congratulations to Chris and Gary Mercado on the birth of their daughter, Sheridan Elena.
Our condolences to the families of Nola Robbins Faynor, Nan Cuddy Costello and Susan Hoadley.
A tennis legend I missed was Bob Weldon, who has won the Empire State Senior Games in his age bracket many times.
Fantastic, super, however you describe it, Dave Moskov and his staff and the Auburn Maroons football team have brought back a spirit to Auburn that hasn't been felt in many a moon. It was certainly evident at the Hall of Fame dinner Saturday as everyone there was pumped up. I love traditions, and when our 1954 and 1955 team went undefeated the business and civic community held a banquet both years and gave each player a gold football and maroon jackets with the CIC championship logo on it. There are some 35 to 40 athletes on this year's team and I'll buy the first jacket. If there are any former players, fans, etc., who would care to do the same then give me a call at 253-5430 and we can get it done and it will mean a lot to these young athletes and it will add a lot of spirit back into our community.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO PHOTOS COURTESY OF ORMIE KING THOMAS LEONE at Bowdoin College in 1946. THE LEONE FAMILY includes (from left) Jean Leone, Tom Leone Jr., Debra Leone, Michele Ann Prentice, Tom "Ollie" Prentice and Thomas Leone. THE LEONE GRANDCHILDREN include (from left) Caitlin Leone, Marissa Leone, Abby Prentice, T.J. Leone Jr., Zach Prentice and Andrew Prentice. Photo courtesy of Ormie King THE LEONE GRANDCHILDREN include (from left) Caitlin Leone, Marissa Leone, Abby Prentice, T.J. Leone Jr., Zach Prentice and Andrew Prentice.