Leo Lennox Jr.

Leo Lennox, Jr.

Evans, GA - Leo Patrick James Lennox Jr., 86, died at home surrounded by family on Wednesday, September 7. He was the beloved husband of Louise (Frechette) Lennox, his wife of 66 years.

Born on December 20, 1935, in the Bronx, this native New Yorker and proud Irish-American was the son of the late Leo and Catherine (Mellon) Lennox. His father’s work as bookkeeper for a construction firm took the family from New York to Maryland and Georgia. Part of his boyhood years in the Peach State were spent as a traveling altar boy, assisting Father King in celebrating Mass at various small parishes and military bases in the state.

Leo’s family returned to New York, where he eventually met the love of his life, Louise, at the Long Island Lighting Company. While a student at Boston College, Leo would hitchhike hundreds of miles to visit Louise in her small Maine mill town. They married in 1956 and went on to raise seven children at their home in Hicksville, New York. Leo relished his role as dad, taking his children on many camping adventures and educational junkets to historical sites throughout the Northeast. Family was everything to him.

BC football games were a viewing staple at the Lennox house. Leo understood the game required important skill sets and demanded grit. To Leo, football was a metaphor for life. He harnessed his passion for the game to teach the players he coached and the children he raised. Nothing better exemplified that anything was possible than the 1984 Thanksgiving Day Flutie/Phelan Hail Mary pass!

Leo was a self-made man, the first in his family to earn college degrees. His career as a high-school social studies teacher and football coach began in the 1960s at his alma mater, Fordham Prep, and ended at Commack High School North on Long Island in the 1990s. His tenure at both institutions positively impacted many young lives and forged lifelong friendships. In addition, Leo led the school board at St. Ignatius Parish in Hicksville. Upon retiring from teaching, he and Louise relocated to Evans, Georgia, where they lived for 30 years. During that time, he served a ten-year stint as CFO and partner at his daughter Susan’s small publishing development house.

Leo’s Jesuit roots informed how he lived and worked. He was truly “a man for others.” Thirty years after leaving the classroom, Leo was still hearing from former students that included corporate and military leaders, and educators. Leo’s ability to cultivate success by helping young people see what was possible with hard work changed lives. Several of his children followed in his footsteps and have had successful careers as educators. This good man was an influencer long before the word became popular. He was deeply loved and will be greatly missed.

In addition to his wife Louise, Leo is survived by his daughter: Susan Virgilio of Goshen, Connecticut; son: Michael Lennox and his wife Hazel of Grovetown, GA; son: Mark Lennox of Goshen, CT; daughter: Patricia Hess and her husband, Mark of Jasper, GA; daughter: Maureen Lennox of Hicksville, NY; son Kevin Lennox: of Santa Teresa, NM; daughter: Catherine Talledo and her husband Paul of Aiken, SC; sister: Madeline Eyermann and her husband Joseph. He also leaves behind twelve grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, with a short recitation of the Rosary beginning at 6:00 p.m. at Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church, 4921 Columbia Road, Grovetown, GA. Interment at the St. Teresa columbarium will take place on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made in Leo’s name to his favorite charity: Food for the Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, PO Box 979005, Coconut Creek, FL 33097-9005.

Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com