Lillian Antonelli

Lillian Leverage Pryor Antonelli, age 91, passed away Friday, March 18, 2022 at Parkview Nursing Care in Wilmington, Delaware.

Lillian was born in 1930 in Wilmington, DE, the daughter of Herbert H. and Arletta (nee Fenton) Leverage. She is preceded in death by two brothers, Herbert Fenton Leverage and Howard W. Leverage. Her sister Renee Santoro (husband Art) of Landenberg, PA survives her.

In April 1970, Lillian married Hugo S. Antonelli in Wilmington, Delaware. They were married for nearly 52 years. Her husband Hugo preceded her in death one month before her, on February 20, 2022. Lillian was previously married to Ralph E. Pryor Jr., and they had two children together.

Lillian graduated from Wilmington High School in 1948. She performed the lead role in the Senior Play “Pygmalion” to critical acclaim. At WHS she was a member of the National Honor Society, the News Staff, House of Delegates, and a lifetime member of the National Thespian Society.

A graduate of Goldey-Beacom College, Lillian worked at the Dupont Co. Experimental Station as a secretary and stenographer in the 1950s.

Lillian enjoyed bowling and played in several leagues in the 60s and 70s at Parkway Bowling Alley. Lil and Hugo often bowled together. During the 1960s she worked at Parkway Bowling. She only worked part time, so she could be with her children when they came home from school.

Lil and Hugo loved traveling together. They went on bus adventures to many sights and cities with friends, from Montreal Canada to Dollywood in Tennessee.

Lillian was raised Methodist and was active at Silverbrook Methodist church in Wilmington with her children until moving in 1970. She also avidly listened to the “Frank and Ernest” religious radio program, her favorite. Lillian’s uncomplicated faith was to do good, know that God loves all people, and that God will eventually cause all things to turn out for the best.

Lillian was a warm, loving, and devoted mother and grandmother. She is survived by four children: Glenn Pryor (wife Rochelle) of Lisbon CT, Valerie Landis of Poolesville MD, stepson Peter F. Antonelli (wife Kimberly) of Lewes DE, stepdaughter Denise A. Crew of Wilmington DE.

Lillian has nine grandchildren: Amy Jo Hopkins, Dylan Landis, Shoshanna Stoume (husband Kevin) Rebekah Pryor, Kevin Antonelli (wife Karen), Peter Antonelli Jr., Patricia Antonelli, Michael J. Crew (wife Julia), Dorothy Duckworth (husband Keith). She also has eight great grandchildren.

More Memories of Lillian’s Life

Lillian’s children and grandchildren were her joy. She loved raising and spending time with them and sacrificed much on their behalf. She nurtured all 9 of her grandchildren, counting each one as her own. Among the things she taught by word and example was to be kind, fair, and helpful to all people regardless of their color, religion, beliefs, nationality, or station in life. She had a subtle, non-confrontive way of teaching.

Lillian grew up in Marshallton and Elsmere, DE. She was of that great generation that grew up during the Great Depression and World War 2 in the 1930s and 40s. She walked to school and carried bean sandwiches for lunch. Some of the other kids laughed. Sometimes she fought with her slightly older brother Fenton. Fenton would get her upset by calling her “Goosey goosey gander chocolate drop! Boom Bomb Crash Chili Sauce!”

Here is one of Lillian’s dreamy childhood memories of her parents and brother, recorded on 27 August 2016: “Both my parents played instruments. My dad played guitar and my mom played mandolin. They played their instruments at night when my brother Fenton and I were supposed to be in bed. But my brother and I would sit at the top of the stairs to hear them playing. I can see them now. I am 86 years old now. They would put up their music stands, get out their sheet music, then play.”

On Christmas of 1940 Lillian was 10. Her only present that year was a Bible, signed lovingly by her parents. They couldn’t afford anything else. At first disappointed, she cherished that Bible until her death. She was in the Girl Scouts. Her mom taught her how to sew and take care of the chickens.

In 1944 during WWII, Lillian served with 500 other girls as a Victory Farm Volunteer, picking crops for the war effort. In middle school she took an art course, made fashion designs, cut pictures out of magazines, and dreamed about boys. She helped care for her 8 years younger sister Renee, who fought to become the first girl to have a newspaper route and buy her own horse. She helped care for her 12 years younger brother Howard, who had a Lionel model train set, [that his nephew later inherited], and came of age during the early years of Rock and Roll.

Lillian graduated from Wilmington High School in 1948. The newly formed United Nations had just recognized Israel as a nation again after nearly 2,000 years. At WHS she was a member of the National Honor Society, the News Staff, House of Delegates, and a lifetime member of the National Thespian Society.

One of Lillian’s life highlights was when she performed the lead role in the 1948 WHS Senior Play to critical acclaim. The play was none other than George Bernard Shaw’s satiric comedy, “Pygmalion”. The play centered around Lillian as “Eliza,” the poor gutter-snipe cockney flower girl transformed into a London society lady. Shaw’s play is now best known as the musical “My Fair Lady”, with Audrey Hepburn as Eliza in the lead role. As “Eliza”, Lillian learned to speak in cockney dialect as well as a “proper” high society English accent. In one scene, Eliza’s father hits her and she shields her face. Dr. Elliot Field’s review observed: “The cast was high grade. Lillian Leverage…gave a high tension and highly intelligent interpretation. She made the Eliza of the street gutter the kind of hoyden Shaw must have imagined…” (Sunday Morning Star, Wilm. DE, March 14, 1948, Entertainment pg17.)

Lillian’s children remember she often delightfully entertained them with lines from Pygmalion in cockney, such as: “Ahm a good gal ah yam!”

A fellow WHS classmate, June McNatt, recently said of Lillian: “She was fantastic. Very sweet. Popular, meaning everybody knew who she was. Very talented young lady.” Lillian’s children were astonished to hear this view of their somewhat shy, self-effacing, unassuming mother as a high schooler.

Lillian often talked about her best friend in high school, the late Jean “Jeannie” Campana. During Lillian’s last year of life, her dementia advanced to the point where she mistook her stepdaughter Denise for “Jeannie.” While this was bitter, it was also sweet. Lillian would light up, affectionately take Denise’s hand, and say: “you are my best friend” and “we had so much fun in high school!”

Lillian had heartbreaking life experiences that knocked her down. At least for a while. She sometimes struggled as a single mom.

But by temperament she was warm, kind, friendly, caring, accepting, passive, gentle, strong, and funny. Amazingly, she truly looked on the bright side of life. When her son was younger he sometimes thought: “yes, mom is sweet and loving, but seems naïve, and a little boring.” Later, her son learned that he was the naïve one. Her seeming naiveté was often a spiritual wisdom, part of what made her a happy and kind person. She had a wealth of surprising, fascinating stories and experiences. She did not talk much about herself unless you asked her. Some of her life history is only now being discovered after going through her memorabilia.

Here are some “Lillian-isms”: “Keep your chin up. Remember, there’s always tomorrow.” “I’m lucky. I can hardly think of any bad memories.” “We did a lot of walking.” “I remember my mom telling me that once she had to climb a tree to get away from a bear.” “I love you indeed. I always did and always will.”

The tragic death of her beloved older brother “Fenton” Leverage in 1950 affected Lillian for the rest of her life. He was a handsome 21-year-old athlete who aspired to serve as a foreign missionary and minister. While working at the PRR shop in Wilmington, he was struck by blacksmith machinery and died of massive internal injuries. Lillian said Fenton would have loved joining the “Peace Corps”, which was formed by JFK some 10 years after Fenton’s death.

After hearing of Lillian’s death, Lil’s nephew Jack Elliot said: “None of us will ever know anyone else like her…there was always goodness coming out of her heart. I could never forget her and what a great aunt she was.”

During most of the Covid shutdown, family could not visit Lil at either assisted living or when she moved to a nursing home. “Visits” were limited to phone calls or video chats. But Glenn and Valerie were thankful to have spent many hours together with their mom Lillian the night before she passed. Lillian squeezed their hands as they sang her favorite hymns, songs, and bible verses, shared memories, moistened her parched mouth and lips, and said their last goodbyes. She fell asleep and died that morning.

One of Lillian’s nurses said that health care staff are not supposed to become attached to their patients. But she confided she had become attached to two patients in her lifetime. One of them was Lillian. “She was sweet 98% of the time.” She loved Lil’s smile and caring warmth. Lillian would say to the nurses, “You take care of Y-O-U.”  This same nurse was holding Lillian’s hand when she breathed her last.

Memorial: Monday May 2 at 11am. Faith Harvest Worship Center (formerly Silverbrook Church) 2205 Lancaster Ave Wilmington, DE.

Burial: Monday May 2 at 1pm at Gracelawn Memorial Park, 2220 N. DuPont Highway, New Castle, DE 19720

In lieu of flowers: Contributions to the Dementia Society of America would be welcome in Lillian’s name. https://www.dementiasociety.org 1-800-DEMENTIA® (1-800-336-3684)