Olinto “Lenny” Cioletti

Olinto “Lenny” Cioletti, age 71, of Totowa, passed away somewhat unexpectedly on Sunday, December 30, 2018. His family was lovingly by his side at the time of his passing.

Born and raised in Paterson Lenny’s family moved to Wayne when he was ten years old. He graduated from Wayne Senior High School (now Wayne Valley High School) with the Class of 1966.

Lenny was one of the most patriotic people you would ever meet. He wanted to serve his country so much that, in 1967, when the United States was involved in the war in Vietnam, he enlisted in the U.S. armed forces choosing the Marines because he always said, “If I’m going to die for country, I want to die a Marine.” A little over a year into his service in Vietnam, he contracted malaria and soon after was honorably discharged. During his time at war, he was a Mortar Man and Small Firearms Technician and was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal. He was also the recipient of the Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Vietnam Service Medal. After returning to civilian life, Lenny got a tattoo which said “Death Before Dishonor.” For many years after returning home, he served as a member of the American Legion Post 227 in Totowa. He enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow veteran servicemen and the opportunities for service and fun that membership offered.

In 1970, Lenny met Barbara Saner, a sweet girl from West Milford, at a little club called TG’s in Greenwood Lake, NY. He had seen her there before, and a friend of Barbara clued her in that Lenny seemed to be interested in her. Her friend was right and, one night while he was there playing a game of pool, a song came on. It was called Cherish and it was a 1966 hit by a group called The Association. As Lenny was setting up his next shot, his mind was drawn to the first couple of lines of that song: “Cherish is the word I use to describe, all the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside.” The song so perfectly described Lenny’s feeling about Barbara! He stopped the game of pool he was playing, conjured up the courage to walk up to her and ask her if she’d like to dance. Much to his delight, Barbara said yes and the rest was history. Barbara fell in love with that ex-Marine and, after a year of dating, they got engaged. They married at the West Milford Presbyterian Church on Saturday, November 11, 1972. After enjoying a honeymoon on Paradise Island in The Bahamas, they initially settled in an apartment in a two-family home on Mount Pleasant Ave in West Paterson (known today as Woodland Park). Two years later, after the birth of a baby boy which they named Bryan, Lenny and Barbara moved into a house they purchased in Totowa and have remained there ever since. Soon after moving to Totowa, they welcome a baby girl which they named Lori.  

For many years, Lenny was the warehouse manager for Eagle Roofing and Siding Supply in Lodi. In 1994, he started developing symptoms of Gait Ataxia which doctors later learned was the result of a genetic disorder. Unfortunately, it forced Lenny to have to take early retirement. Despite any challenges he faced, Lenny was always an optimistic and active person.

As a young kid, Lenny took a real interest in model making – plastic, scale models of muscle cars, buses, trucks and trains. As he grew older, the models he selected became more and more intricate and difficult to make. Even after he got married, Lenny and his cousin regularly gave each other model kits as gifts to make. At some point, Lenny’s love of making these replicas morphed into making them out of wood instead of plastic. To accomplish this, Lenny needed more and more tools – things like a table saw, a radial arm saw, a jigsaw, a joiner-planer, a lathe, and all kinds of hand tools too. Soon his family and friends gave him the nickname “Mr Tool Man.” From his workshop in the basement, he spent an average of three hours a day fashioning incredible and increasingly intricate cars, trucks, and tractors from pieces of wood. At Christmas, his yard was beautifully decorated with deer and a sleigh – all constructed from wood. He also made other things – planters, a book holder which tilted the book to a comfortable reading angle, and even a lazy Susan. Lenny’s skills developed more and more so he decided to share his knowledge by serving as a 4-H club leader teaching woodworking to his son Bryan and the other boys that attended.

When Lenny was giving his hands a rest, he was usually filling his mind with knowledge. He was an avid reader who loved learning anything he could about war and military service, and he also loved reading action novels by Tom Clancy. If the television was on, it was usually tuned to the History Channel where accounts of events like Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor were known to move Lenny to tears. On a lighter note, he enjoyed watching NASCAR racing every Sunday and also working on his small collection of Playboy magazines which he only collected for the great articles…..of course!    

Lenny’s service in the Marines as a small arms technician resulted in a keen interest in firearms. When he realized that his diagnosis of malaria was going to result in being sent home from Vietnam for good, he knew there was one gun that had to come home with him. It was a semi-automatic service pistol that he just had to have! So he wrapped the gun in foil and hid it inside of a radio which he had gutted to accommodate and hide the gun. Lenny sent the “radio” to his Dad with strict instructions NOT to open the package until he got home. He also acquired other guns and rifles which he enjoyed shooting for many years as a member in his shooting league.

While Lenny enjoyed his many hobbies, his greatest love was most definitely reserved for his family. He adored his wife Barbara for all 46 years of marriage and he was very proud of his son Bryan and daughter Lori and most grateful for the six awesome grandchildren they blessed him with. In the early days of Lenny, Barbara, Bryan and Lori enjoyed good times together down the shore in Ortley Beach, and more recently, the whole family – grandchildren too, took summer trips to Point Pleasant and also got to experience two great cruises together; first to the Virgin Islands and the second cruise to Bermuda. Lenny adored the company of his grandchildren and spending time with them playing games together like Scattergories.

His family adored Lenny greatly. They were very proud of his service to this great country we are all blessed to be part of and they will simply miss his loving presence. After twenty years of health problems and disability, Lenny will rest in peace and be reunited with his dog Snickers and his two cats Boots and Bobby.  

Lenny was the beloved husband of Barbara (nee Saner), blessed in marriage for 46 years. He was the loving father of Bryan and his wife Kimberly Cioletti of Succasunna, and Lori and her husband Dennis James of Wayne; cherished grandfather of Jailyn, Dylan, Marcus, Jacob, Matthew, and Hannah; dear brother of the late Captain Craig Cioletti and his wife Deborah of Richmond, VA; and dear uncle of Christopher Cioletti of Prosper, TX and Corey Cioletti of England.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Lenny’s name are asked to consider the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund 1235 South Clark Street, Suite 910, Arlington, VA 22202 (vvmf.org), or the Wounded Warrior Project

PO Box 758517 Topeka, KS  66675 (woundedwarriorproject.org).