Leonard J. Mariani

November 29, 1958 - April 16, 2021

Leonard J. Mariani passed from this life on April 16, 2021, after a brief and courageous bout with cancer. Born in Boston on November 29, 1958, he graduated from Boston State College in 1982 with a BS in business administration. In 1994 he moved to Louisville, where he built his own accounting and bookkeeping business from the ground up, working with individuals, non-profits, and corporations in the Louisville community for more than twenty-five years. Notable was his practice of taking on clients no matter their ability to pay and treating them less as clients than friends. He demonstrated this same generosity of spirit in his work with AIDS Interfaith Ministries, for which he served as treasurer for more than ten years, and in his volunteer work with numerous community organizations, including the Louisville Youth Group, the Louisville AIDS Walk, and Just Creations. Numbers were his business, but classic Hollywood film was his passion. Possessing the uncanny ability to name every nominee for an Oscar in any given year, he poured the bulk of his energy in his last few months into finishing the book he always had in him: ‘And the Award Goes to...’: One Fanatic’s Point of View. But he was most proud of the life he built with Greg Hutcheson, whom he married in 2016 after an impromptu proposal at Machu Picchu during the winter solstice. Married for four years, together for almost twenty, they made their home in Crescent Hill, where they lived with their rescue beagle Willie. Except for his travels with Greg to exotic ports-of-call around the Mediterranean, Len spent his life in simple pleasures: sipping a good bourbon or scotch; building playlists of his favorite music (dominated by Bruce Springsteen and Motown); watching classic movies (particularly if they starred Bette Davis); baking Christmas cookies for distribution among family, friends, and neighbors; planting far more flowerpots than he ever remembered to water; and taking Willie for early morning walks through the neighborhood. With the advent of Alexa, he coaxed Greg into the habit of slow dancing in the kitchen while the pasta water was boiling; they continued up until the end to hold hands and say grace before eating dinner. Len’s friends and family will remember him for his quirks, all of them endearing. He fell asleep at parties; sat at the kids’ table at holidays; and loved all animals, but especially cows. He was infamous for breaking into uncontrollable laughter before reaching the punchline of a joke, and his laugh was unforgettable. Len was a beautiful soul, who only grew more beautiful in the fight. He was preceded in death by his father Ralph Mariani, by his paternal grandparents Joseph and Sally Mariani of Boston, and by his maternal grandparents Mario and Michelina Mariani of San Giovanni Incarico, Italy. Besides his husband Greg, he is survived by his mother Adele (Rina) Mariani, whose phone calls he insisted on taking even when all he could do was listen; by brothers Ron Mariani (Ginnie) and Ray Mariani (Sarah); by nephew Michael Mariani (Julia); by nieces Michele Vaughn (Brian), Elizabeth Mariani DeArruda (Shawn), Carole Mariani (John Stretton), and Cristina Mariani; by mother-in-law Frances Hutcheson, sister-in-law Karen Hutcheson, and brother-in-law Mark Hutcheson (Rakia); and by great nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, cousins and second cousins, all of whom loved him dearly and took Greg in as a member of the family. Mourning him as well is the host of friends he collected through the years, all of whom rallied to support him in his last few months. Worthy of special mention are Barbara Murray, who braved COVID to fly in from Florida and spend a few hours at his side; Jim Beatty, Jim Dickman, Jerry Hall, Christopher Miller, and Bill Stanley, who kept him close company in his last few weeks; and fellow film aficionado Maureen O’Connor, who generously took on the task of copy editing his book manuscript. A devout Catholic even when the Church made it hard, Len held fast to the belief that he would soon be reunited with his father and his beloved grandmother Ma. For him, death was not an end but a beginning. Visitation will be held from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, April 24, at Ratterman and Sons, 3800 Bardstown Rd., with a formal celebration of life beginning at 2:30 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church in Boston at a later date. Greg wishes to thank the Hosparus team for filling their home with light and laughter even at the most difficult moments. Instead of flowers, he requests that donations be made in Len’s memory to Hosparus Health Louisville, the Kentucky Humane Society, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Online condolences may be shared at www.ratterman.com.