William Leona was a witty guy

NEW HAVEN William Leona was a witty guy who had a way of twisting and playing with words.
He would come up with the funniest things, said Leona’s wife of 47 years, Marie. When we were in high school, Bill and I often went rollerskating at a rink in Groton. On the way, he would say, We’re on our way to Rotten Groton. And whenever we saw a sign that said Fog Area, like on a bridge or an overpass, he’d say, We’re now entering Fogaria.

Born Feb. 5, 1940, in New Haven, a son of Matteo and Angelina Leona, he attended East Haven High School and Quinnipiac Univerity. He was a longtime travel agent and owner of Leona Travel, and later worked for World Tech Travel.In his spare time, Leona liked to go to farmers markets, cook he was always on the lookout for new recipes, go to the casinos. play cards and Trivia, do crossword and jigsaw puzzles, swim and fish. While not a big sports fan, he followed basketball’s March Madness, largely because of his business.

Family vacations included trips to Florida, Bermuda, Massachusetts, Rhode Island. Leona and his wife also visited Europe, England and Puerto Rico and went on some cruises.One of eight children, he was the youngest. He was a quiet boy who kept to himself, but he was interested in everything, said Leona’s sole surviving sibling, Matteo Leona of Branford. Even though I was 16 years older than Bill, we were very close and stayed in close contact all of our lives. He was very easy to get along with, and while he had his opinions and I had mine, we never argued about anything.

A niece, Norma DiChello of New Haven, said her uncle was like a father to her. Her own father has died when she was very young.I don’t know what I would have done without Uncle Bill, she said. He even talked me into going to college and sticking with it, He was there for me my whole life.Leona was a very sweet man and an excellent cook, and he made the best paella, she went pn to say, adding He used to love to go to Ferrara’s Market on Grand Avenue, especially on Saturday nights as they were gettng ready to close, so he could get the best prices. He’d buy so much meat, he’d end up giving away a lot of it to his daughters. As he got older, I’d drive him around, to the bank or for his favorite doughnuts and coffee.

He was very jolly, liked to laugh and was always joking, said his wife. He also was very friendly and outgoing, and tried to help everybody when he could. He liked parties and enjoyed arranging them, and knew just how to do it. He had a whole system to prepare parties and social events. We called him the Party Planner.Leona also leaves three daughters, Christine Higgins of East Haven, Michele Leona of North Haven and Lucia Chubet of Southington and six granddaughters.