S. Thomas Leone, born in Hartford on August 29, 1924, son of Salvatore and Pauline Moneglia Leone, died with dignity in Manchester on October 18, 2010. He grew up in East Hartford and attended East Hartford High School, where he published his own newspaper and graduated despite being expelled twice for his factual but controversial news writing. Tom enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in July, 1943. As a tail gunner in a B-26 with the 442nd Bombardment Squadron, 320th Bombardment Group, he flew 52 combat missions in campaigns over the North Appenines, Central Europe, the Rhineland and North Africa. Honorably discharged from the Air Force in November, 1945, he later served in the Reserves as an officer in the 76th Quartermaster Corps and the 826th Military Intelligence Detachment Corps from 1956 to 1959. After the war, Tom attended the University of Southern California at Los Angeles on the G.I. Bill and graduated with a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Denver in 1951. He was employed by The Hartford Courant for 27 years as an advertising and marketing executive. Tom was a key player on the team that brought The Courant from a distant #2 to newspaper dominance in the region, the result being that the embattled Hartford Times ceased publication in 1976. He thoroughly enjoyed his career, retiring in 1982. An avid golfer, he was a long time member of Manchester Country Club and Bay Tree Plantation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Ever the competitor, he went from a slicer with a high handicap to a down-the-middle, single digit player to keep up with his sons. At 75, he shot an 86 at Pebble Beach and got his first hole-in-one at Manchester's 5th hole. For years, he flew the 19th hole flag from the deck of his sixth fairway condo and many a golfer ended his round enjoying Tom's legendary hospitality. Among the original members of St. Bartholomew's Church in the early sixties, Tom was, in later years, a devoted communicant of St. James' Church. Survived by Elaine Hauschild Leone, his wife of 59 years, and his sister, Lee Monacella of Huntington, NY, Tom was predeceased by his brothers, Santo (Sandy) and Joseph Leone. Tom was the beloved father of Lizabeth Leone of Glastonbury, Scott (Melissa) Leone of Hamden, Duffy (Valorie) Leone of Coto de Caza, California, and the cherished grandfather of Andrea, Eliza, Anna, Noah, Alexandra and Peter Leone. In accordance with Tom's wishes, there will be no calling hours or services. The family will gather privately at home to celebrate the life of this good man. We were blessed to have Thomas Leone as the center of our lives to inspire us, to protect us and to love us. The John F. Tierney Funeral Home, Manchester has care of the arrangements.