Leonard Dricks

Len was born in Brooklyn of immigrant parents from Hungary. Neither had an education. His father was a window cleaner all his life and his mom took care of her three sons. She was diagnosed with cancer while they were still young and were sent off to an uncle's farm in the summers when she had surgery so they wouldn't know what was happening. They also spent their time fishing at the nearby beach and being kid entrepreneurs to make spending money. He was accepted at Brooklyn Tech High School and loved the well rounded education he got there. It probably had a lot to do with his future creative talents as a wood builder. He went directly into the Army after graduation and survived through 3 years of service. He was trained at the College of Puget Sound and took intense classes in German. So he was the go to person for interrogation during the war years. His stories of what they went through boggle the mind: digging fox holes in the frozen ground during the coldest winter on record, then spending nights there with their socks tucked into their armpits to get them to dry while bombs were dropping overhead. He was a liberator of the Morthausen concentration camp. He would never forget the looks on the survivors' emaciated faces as the Americans came in to liberate them from torture and death. He sometimes addressed groups about this experience and always got so choked at this part that he could barely speak. It was amazing how he could always talk about the war in minute detail like it was yesterday.

Upon his return, he went to college, married and had 2 daughters, Neddy and Toni. He became a Physical Ed teacher in the Blackboard Jungle for several years and talked about the poverty and crime that surrounded the area. He saw it firsthand when he'd sometimes visit the homes of his students. He was very well liked and respected. One day he said how much he liked a certain Stetson hat. The following day one appeared on his desk, stolen of course. Naturally, he refused it but had to be careful what he wished for. He also worked in Coney island. He continued his studies and became a guidance counselor in Glendale Junior High School in Queens, NY. Throughout his teaching career, he taught by day and then worked in after school centers. Many summers were spent as a camp director in upstate NY. He wanted to give his family the best so he was a non-stop workaholic. Boating with a close friend was one of his fond recreations and he decided to build a 30 ft piver trimaran in the front and side yard of his house in Seaford, It took 3 years. He did everything on it. He even went to an adult ed class of all women to learn how to sew so he could make the cushions. That boat sailed on south shore of Long Island for several years before it was sold.

Dee met Len in 1964 as a French teacher, but had little recollection of interaction between the two at school. They were both married at the time. However, Len's wife died in '78 and Dee divorced around the same time. The two met at a singles party in January of '81. They recognized each other and began to talk and started dating. By April, they got engaged and in December were married in their newly renovated residence in Oakdale. Len had made all the kitchen cabinets and brought to their home other beautifully handcrafted pieces of furniture that he'd done. It was a wonderful marriage with a beautiful harmony working together on everything. Len retired shortly after the wedding and took care of things at home. Dee worked nearby.

He became an active environmentalist in 1986 and started the Oakdale Civic Association. The group grew and there was a very loyal neighborhood of supporters. For ten years, he spent many hours on the phone with local politicians and community members who always rallied to his call when a turnout of support was necessary. What a great leader !

They took many interesting trips: Italy, South America , Turkey, Sri Lanka, bareboat charters in the Caribbean, a barge canal cruise on Canal du Midi in France. The house on the water came with a beautiful 20x40 pool which was used April-October as it had a heater. During the daily lunch time phone call from work, he'd ask Dee if she wanted to swim and then heat up the pool if necessary. It was a marriage of do what you can to make your partner happy. In 1996 Dee & Len retired to Fairfield Harbour where they spent 6 months on renovations to create the home of their dreams. It was called “seat of the pants” renovations where there was a general concept but decisions had to be made every day about every little nuance in its creation. It was all worth it! The following year they started redoing the landscaping and started planting gorgeous flower gardens, a never ending project. Boating on Len's Dee-Lite, their 36 foot trawler, with the Yacht club and Power Squadron, working with the wine tasting group of Newcomers, traveling, supporting the cultural arts were activities that kept them busy together.

In 1998 Len surprised Dee by building a lap dulcimer which she eventually learned to play thanks to WATERBOUND Dulcimers from Kinston. But little did he know he'd create a music monster. As they traveled and went to music festivals, Dee kept adding instruments to her repertoire and around 2007 started hosting Thurday Morn' and later Down East Dulcimers' practices at their home every week. He loved music and one of his biggest pleasures was watching and listening to the groups play and mature as musicians. As gigs became more and more frequent, Len was the roadie for the bands. He was so proud and music friends became some of their best friends. Around 2012, Len's ability to be the energizer bunny started to wane. Certain activities diminished and Dee became the caregiver. In 2017, he was moved into Homeplace as more care was necessary. After he was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia in July of 2018, he went on Hospice at the Homeplace. He survived another 4 months after that. During the last month or so, he hardly ate and was in a hallucinatory state. Every day he had a different experience in his dreams. Dee learned how to go with the flow and not disagree with what he thought was real. If he said what's in that bowl, she made up something If he told her to make up a list of foods for Thanksgiving, she sat there with pad and paper in hand knowing he wouldn't eat any of it, One day he said he had gone to a show and it was awful because all the kids were pulling down each others pants. He was always asking Dee to cancel engagements with friends because he wasn't feeling up to it. There was never a dull moment in his imagination. Those crazy stories have become a fond memory now.

At his memorial service, Dee wanted to send him off with music, including some WW11songs and his favorite song Golden Earrings. It was the first gift he gave her. Special thanks go to all the friends that visited Len faithfully at Homeplace. Super special thanks go out to her niece, Evie and nephew, Bill who visited several times a year for the fun times and to help and support them during the difficult ones as well.