Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on December 15, 2020. She was 89 years old.
Mrs. Leone was preceded in death by her husband, World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, Baron Michele Leone, who died in 1988 as a result of a tragic automobile accident near his home, while walking to the beach.
Billie was a beloved wife to Baron Leone. After Baron Leone retired from
professional wrestling, they enjoyed traveling to Europe, but they especially loved
going to the beach. If it was not Santa Monica beach, it would be to the beaches of
Mexico where the Leones had a beach house. She was an excellent cook and
Billie and Baron enjoyed having afternoon cocktails at their terrace overlooking
the Santa Monica Bay.
Billie was a kind and very generous person. In 2009, Billie donated one hundred thousand dollars to The Santa Monica Historical Society Museum, to honor Baron Leone with a permanent exhibit featuring the highlights of his career in and outside the wrestling arena.
At the time Billie stated: “my husband moved to Santa Monica in 1949 and that
began his lifelong love affair with Santa Monica.” Billie and Baron loved
everything about the city, from the people, to its many scenic attractions like the
pier, but they especially loved the sun, the beach and the ocean. They were very
active and physically fit, and they would go to the beach every day when they
were not out of town.
Billie leaves behind one nephew Giovanni Trombetta of Northridge California,
seven nieces and nephews in Italy, Anna, Claudia, Maria, Antonio, Carmelo,
Cesidio and Gianfranco, a nephew, Bratt Chase, niece, Allie and their mother
Joanne in Wyoming, and members of the Sonne family in Northern California and
Denmark.
She will be greatly missed by her nephews and nieces, her friends Chris Restak,
Kathleen Burke, Charlotte and Armand De Maio, Carol Lanier and Susan
Stumperf.
Billie’s ashes will be interred with her husband Baron Leone at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica. A memorial for Billie will be held at a later time.
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