Tributes – Leo Lauretano – Winchester Tennis Association

From Phill Coonley:

My life is so full of joys and privilege; one was spending 100s of hours with Leo on tennis courts ( he talked at court side changes 1/2 the time!), listening and watching him play base guitar or sing with his bands including at Marilyn and my wedding celebration, bird watching ( which sometimes interrupted a tennis match!i), in his dentist chair ( where I could not talk back!), and together marveling at nature’s wonders. Leo was a renaissance man. How lucky I was to be one of the many he befriended.

From Barry Fishman:

Leo was very special, in many, many ways and it is with great difficulty and emotion I am sharing my most heartfelt feelings about him. I’m a Jersey guy, an out-of-towner who moved to Winchester in the late 1980’s. I met Leo in the early 1990’s when I started to play tennis again and after I had met folks like Joe Tozza, another wonderful, wonderful, person and friend.

So, what are the adjectives to describe Leo?Kindness was key, always amazingly happy, supportive, incredibly knowledgeable and smart, easy going, easy to be around and just plain nice to EVERYBODY! Mostly, he just became a very great friend to me and we spoke for hours about everything. Before during and after tennis matches, going out to brunches, dinner, parties and tennis events. There was always a lot to talk about….there was family, tennis, health, our tennis teams, social and professional tennis, and music played a big role too. He was a very accomplished tennis player and musician. Leo loved to play and enjoyed his band(s) over the years as well.

But as much as we did together, it wasn’t the quantity but rather the quality of the interactions. Leo was so smart, he knew about everything and when we had questions, he would research the topic without fail and send over the info. Leo was always around even when he wasn’t present….amazing….he was known by many folks in town and beyond and everyone knew how “NICE” he was as well as always being helpful!! My experiences with Leo were always positive and somehow, no matter how serious the conversations might have been, Leo would find a way to keep it hopeful, balanced and with the “best” perspective! When I think about him, and it’s all too often, I just feel appreciation and “good vibes.”

From Barry Fishman

All I know is that Leo Lauretano was exceptional in all his roles in his life including family, dentistry, tennis, music, friends, his quality of life, Boston sports teams and his beloved tennis facility at the Packer-Ellis courts! I have been really trying to think of all the best words I can come up with to do justice to this tribute. It’s been a struggle and all I think about is how lucky I was to have such a wonderful, supportive friend who I miss deeply. May he rest in peace….I’m certain he will!!!

From Tom Dunn:

Leo had the most beautiful tennis strokes. When we played he would run me around until I was ready to drop. If he won he was very humble. If he lost he was very congratulatory. As good as he was at tennis, he was an even better person.