Leonard "Lenny" Richard Singer

Leonard Richard "Lenny" Singer

April 4, 1923 – October 8, 2026

Leonard Richard "Lenny" Singer, 103, of Summerville, South Carolina, passed away peacefully on October 8, 2026, at the Lowcountry Community Hospice House, under the loving care of Agape Group Care. A World War II veteran, a devoted husband and father, and a lifelong lover of trains, Lenny often said how blessed he was to have such a loving family, and his family will tell you they were every bit as blessed to have him. To his grandchildren, and to countless others whose lives he touched, he was simply "Grandpa."

Lenny was born April 4, 1923, in Chicago and adopted from the cradle in Evanston by Harry and Becky Singer, who raised him in Springfield, Illinois, with so much love that he said he never wanted for anything. He grew up surrounded by cousins and his beloved grandmother. As a boy he would slip away to the freight yard to watch the trains roll through, and that love stayed with him for 103 years, from his model railroad to train rides.

After graduating from Springfield High School in 1941, Lenny enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1942 as a dental technician and was stationed at the dental laboratory at Great Lakes Naval Station. He later served aboard the troop ship USS Marathon, then with a Seabee unit at Pearl Harbor, at the Naval Air Station on Maui, a training base for night carrier landings, and at the Amphibious Operating Base at Waipio, Hawaii. He was honorably discharged in February 1946 as a Pharmacist's Mate First Class. Lenny loved his country deeply. Even past 100, he would stop by the local recruiters' office to see if they needed a hand.

In 1959, Lenny began managing a drive-in theatre for Kerasotes Theatres in Springfield. Within three months he was sent to Quincy, Illinois, to manage two indoor theatres and two drive-ins, and he stayed 22 years. He even got to meet Jack Lemmon along the way. Best of all, the theatres brought him Jeanie. She was one of his cashiers, and there was something about her that caught his heart. He knew she was the one. He proposed over dinner, and they married on December 9, 1960, at First Christian Church in Quincy.

Lenny and Jeanie were blessed with two sons, Doug and Mike, born exactly one year apart, and watching them grow into men was one of his greatest joys. After his theatre career, Lenny spent seven years as an account executive selling air time for WTAD radio in Quincy. In 1988, he and Jeanie moved to Goose Creek, South Carolina, where their youngest son lived, to enjoy the beach in their retirement years.

That same year they found their church home at Northwood Assembly, now Northwood Church. Lenny had been raised in the Jewish faith, and there he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He was baptized in 1989, and he and Jeanie built treasured, lifelong friendships in that church family.

Retirement never quite stuck. In 2004, Lenny began volunteering at Summerville Medical Center, where he delivered mail, did administrative work, greeted patients and visitors, and drove the golf cart that carried patients in from the parking lot. He was still volunteering when he reached his 100th birthday. He captured the hearts of everyone he met there and made many loyal friends.

Lenny's simple joys were many: watching the Atlanta Braves; a good hot dog, a hamburger and fries, or a handful of M&M's. His favorites of all, though, were spending time with family, working on his model railroad, and volunteering at the hospital. He was fond of reminding everyone that "time and tide wait for no one" and that "the early bird gets the most worms." Above all, he believed in treating others the way you would like to be treated, and he lived it every day.

Lenny took great pride in his grandchildren, and that pride flowed right on to his great-grandchildren. Each time the family grew, he would happily announce, "The Singer Empire is growing!" He is survived by Jeanie (Carole Jean), his wife of nearly 66 years and the love of his life. He is also survived by his sons, Doug (Robin) and Mike (Debbie); his grandchildren, Chad (Lauren), Nikki (Maria), Nate (Alex), Benjamin (Lauren), and Andrew (Mary Catherine); and his great-grandchildren, Addison, Emma, Jericho, Hatice, Ambrose, Hannah, and Olivia. Jeanie's family became his own, and he leaves behind his sisters-in-law, Mary Jane Rischar and Millie Kelley, and three nieces and a nephew who adored him, as he adored them. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Becky Singer; Jeanie's siblings Nancy Kelley and Jerry Kelley; brother-in-law Pete Rischar; and nephew.

A celebration of life drop-in will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Northwood Church Extension Building, 4020 2nd Avenue, Summerville, SC 29486. A private family graveside service with military honors will be held at Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, SC, on Monday, October 19, 2026.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hallie Hill Animal Sanctuary, www.halliehill.com.

As Lenny would tell his youngest grandson: Vaya con Dios.