Leonard H. Greco

Leonard H. Greco was born in Beckley, West Virginia on January 24, 1938 to parents Ruth and Samuel Greco. Two years later Leonard would contract a lifelong case of Polio, paralyzing him from the waist down. Against all odds, and with the love and support of his family and friends, Leonard refused to allow his disease to hold him back from living his life to the fullest.

After graduation from Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, Leonard first visited Tampa in 1958 with his brother Carl Pittman, for Leonard to attend classes at the University of Tampa. Though Leonard would return to West Virginia to begin his career as a teacher and later Principal, the two brothers fell in love with the City of Tampa while watching the Hillsborough River flow through downtown and decided one day it would be both of their permanent residences.

In 1961 Leonard would meet his former wife Lucille and the two would go on to marry the next year and begin a family in the years following.

In 1968 Leonard would fulfill his dream of moving his family to Florida to join Carl, Carl’s wife Melba, and their son David in Tampa. After a brief stint at Florida State University, where Leonard obtained a master’s degree in psychology, he and his family found a long time home in Clair Mel City, Florida.

Shortly after settling in Clair Mel City, Leonard asserted himself in his new community. He was elected as President of Southeast Little League, a position that would see him positively impact the lives of many youths in the area. Leonard’s lifelong love of baseball stemmed from a trip his father took him on to see his favorite team, the New York Yankees as a child.

Leonard’s crowning professional achievement was his selection as a Vice President at the MacDonald Training Center, where for 14 years he proudly and relentlessly advocated for funding and other means of improving and assisting the lives of those with intellectual and mental disabilities. Leonard would also become an advocate for The Commission of Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, constantly seeking the best possible treatment for those with special needs.

After a successful and enriching professional career in social work, Leonard decided to venture into other industries as a businessman. His first venture was into the bar business in 1987, when he opened the first of several “Lenny’s” pubs. Following the immense success of the bars, Lenny would go on to purchase local plumbing company Gideons Plumbing, where as CEO he would oversee the transformation of the company into the Greco family ran Gideons & Greco Plumbing Co. Inc, which would be a local fixture of the community for over 30 years. Lenny would sell the last of his bars, Lenny’s in Seffner, in 2007 and begin the next stage of his life as an excellent mentor and friend to so many.

Lenny is survived by his daughter Teresa Greco Lee and her husband Roger Lee (Lenny’s “favorite buddy”), their children Jeremy and Katie. His grandchildren Thomas Jablonski, Nicole Greco-Aun and her husband Brock Aun, along with their sons Jayden, Salem, and Abel. His nephew David Pittman, and his wife Betsy Pittman.

In lieu of flowers, please feel free to donate to Lenny’s preferred charities, the Emergency Care Help Organization (ECHO) of Brandon or the Lifepath Hospice House Sun City Center.