Leonard Delessio Andrew was born on November 16, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York to Dominick Delessio and Concetta (Carrie) Aulisio. From the age of five, when his mother died, he was raised by his aunt Josephine and her husband Albert Andrew. He legally took their name after graduating from high school.
He studied history at Lafayette College, working as a cook in the only integrated fraternity and earning money during the summers driving an ice cream truck. After serving in the military in Germany, he entered St. John’s University School of Law, where he was editor-in-chief of the Law Review and graduated in 1968. He worked briefly as a clerk in the U.S. District Court, NY Eastern District, then was hired by IBM as an intellectual property rights lawyer. After retiring thirty years later, he specialized in not-for-profit corporate law and worked as a commercial panel arbitrator of the American Arbitration Association.
Len met Helen Clark Fischer in college; they married in 1966. Their daughter Elizabeth Jane Andrew was born in Brooklyn in 1969, and Martha (Marcy) Carol Andrew in North Tarrytown in 1971. After living briefly in Potomac, MD, and La Canada, CA, they settled along the Hudson River on Pokahoe Drive, leaving Sleepy Hollow only from 1990 to 1994, when Len served as the Asia/Pacific General Counsel in Tokyo, Japan. In 1981, Len received a kidney transplant, followed by a second 31 years later—both formative experiences. After Helen died in 2016, Len moved to Kendal on Hudson.
Len was a dedicated husband; fun-loving, trustworthy father and grandfather; faithful brother; and exceptional friend. Games, good food, stimulating conversation, and social gatherings brought him joy. He loved the natural world, especially along the Hudson and in the Adirondacks. Len traveled extensively, appreciating cross-cultural exchanges, interfaith relationships, beautiful scenery, and unplanned diversions. He was a life-long learner with wide-ranging curiosity. His friends have noted his kindness, intelligence, humility, good taste, ability to bring clarity to difficult issues, and his humor.
Len expressed his deep commitment to community by founding the local Transplant Support Organization, giving countless hours to the United Methodist Church of the Tarrytowns and Memorial United Methodist Church, participating in the Fortnightly Club, and serving on the boards (often in leadership roles, often for decades) of the following organizations: the Family YMCA of Tarrytown, Asbury Terrace Housing corporation, The Rotary Club of the Tarrytowns, The Interfaith Connection, RSHM Life Center, Foundation for Religion and Mental Health, Memorial UMC Childhood Center, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Historic Fund, and Pocantico River Watershed Conservancy. At Kendal on Hudson, he served on the Charity Fund, the Investment Committee, and the Residents’ Association. Through the Pro Bono Partnership, he edited the Not-for-Profit Employment Law Guide, volunteered for the International Senior Lawyers Project, Westchester Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for Non-violence, American Muslim Women’s Association, Child Health Foundation, Girl Scouts, WESPAC Foundation, and countless others, often rewriting bylaws and offering free legal advice. He was recognized by the American Bar Association as the Pro Bono Counsel of the Year, Senior Lawyer’s Division, in 2001, received the Distinguished Service Award from the Pro Bono Partnership in 2008, and received the Laurence Rockefeller Award from the Family YMCA at Tarrytown in 2011.
Len is survived by daughter Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew (Emily Jarrett Hughes), granddaughter Gwyneth Anne Jarrett, daughter Marcy Andrew (Scott Moore), grandsons Rafael Andrew-Moore and Antonio Andrew-Moore, sister Carol Delessio and brother David Church (Cynthia Shor). He was preceded in death by Helen Andrew and his grandson Simon Andrew. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Family YMCA at Tarrytown, Memorial United Methodist Church, Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson, Child Health Foundation, Southern Poverty Law Center , American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, or Rich Earth Institute. The memorial service will be held on Sunday, July 18 at 2:00 at Memorial United Methodist Church, 250 Bryant Ave, White Plains. An online broadcast of the service can be found at www.Memorial4all.org.
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