Leonard "Len" Edward Gilmore

Leonard Edward Gilmore, born on November 18, 1947, passed away unexpectedly on July 28, 2023.

Len was born to Frank and Helen (Berry) Gilmore, the youngest of four boys.  He attended St. Anne’s, where he met his childhood sweetheart and future wife Joan.  He later spent some time at North Catholic and Edison H.S.  Len’s parents died by the time he was 16 and he started working at Calbar.  In 1967, he married his childhood sweetheart Joan.  He was drafted into the U.S. Army shortly thereafter.  Len and Joan raised two daughters, Annemarie and Joan.  Len and his wife put their daughters through college and he was immensely proud that both of his daughters were college graduates.  Because his parents passed when he was young and did not have many educational opportunities, he wanted to make sure his daughters did.  To his credit, he obtained his G.E.D. in 1986 and proclaimed that he had the highest grade for his group even though he didn’t go to the prep classes.

Lenny’s passionate interest was listening to music.  He loved listening to WXPN and curated an eclectic set of playlists on Spotify. He spent a great deal of time managing those lists.  His daughters knew that anytime he had visitors that there would be loud music played in the house late into the evening.  He passed on his love of music to his oldest grandson Raymond and took great pride in Raymond’s musical accomplishments. 

As is typical for anyone who grew up in Kensington, Lenny was an avid sports fan and loved the Phillies and the Eagles.  He had a partial season ticket plan to the Phillies and tried to get to as many games as he could despite his decreasing health.  He would joke with his son-in-law Travis and grandson Elias about how the best Washington Nationals players would eventually join the Phillies.

Lenny was also big about making sure he had the latest in entertainment technology and streaming services.  He would put in a lot of research before purchasing any piece of equipment and then he would set the system up so only he knew how to work the remote controls.

Lenny’s greatest love, however, was for his wife Joan.  They were married almost 56 years.  They would have celebrated their 56th year anniversary on Saturday, August 5th.  They married young and struggled, but were happy together.  They enjoyed going to concerts and spending time at the Jersey shore.  His time with his wife, children and grandchildren is what mattered most to him.

He is the cherished and devoted husband of Joan (nee Ryan).  Loving father of daughters Annemarie McGavin and Joan Gilmore, and his son-in-law Travis McGavin.  Pop-Pop to his grandsons Sean and Elias McGavin and the late Raymond McGavin.  Dear brother of Kassy (Ryan) and Gary Shead, Dennis and Jackie (Krotowski) Ryan, and the late Jimmy Gilmore, Billy Gilmore, John Gilmore, Mary (Ryan) Mason and Beanie (Ryan) Weining.  Sadly, missed by his mother-in-law Joan (Murray) Ryan and sister-in-law Dolores (Krecko) Gilmore, both of whom took care of Lenny after his parents passed away.  He will also be missed by his many nieces, nephews, cousins, family members and friends.

Relatives and friends are invited to gather and celebrate Lenny’s life at St. Anne’s Church, located at 2328 E. Lehigh Avenue in Philadelphia on Thursday, August 3rd beginning at 9 A.M. and to participate in his Funeral Mass at 10:30 A.M.  In lieu of flowers, you can make a donation to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (https://give2.chop.edu/give/241805/#!/donation/checkout) or ConnerStrong Foundation at https://connerstrongfoundation.org/

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