Leonard F. Maar, Jr.

Leonard F. Maar, Jr. (April 27, 1927 to February 17, 2016) Norwalk CT

Len was a loving, kind, sweet and gentle person, and a wonderful father. He had a great sense of humor, and taught his children to love words. He loved novels and poetry, and his bible was the New York Times. He was creative, a gifted designer and drawer as well as writer. He was a fantastic cook of seafood, including fish soup, Manhattan and New England clam chowder, and a paella to die for. The descendant of slaves and Native Americans, as well as English and Dutch, Len had a strong belief in social justice. He had very progressive ideas about women, unusual for his time.

His parents, Leonard Frank Maar and Lillian Hibbert, met each other while working as newspaper reporters. He was born in Poughkeepsie NY, and spent his early years in Poughkeepsie and Wappinger’s Falls, where his mother’s family lived. He had one sister, Lori (Alora) Maar Cook. In the 1930s, the Maar family moved to Harlem New York, where they lived for about two decades until the mid-1950s.

Eager to fight Nazism and fascism, Len willingly enlisted in the US Navy, and served as a seaman on a submarine. After both of his legs were crushed during an attack on the submarine, he ended up in the US military hospital in the Canal Zone, Panama. Told he would never walk again, he had metal plates inserted in both legs, and learned to walk normally. He received an Honorable Discharge.

After briefly returning to NYC, he went to live in Venezuela where he worked as a reporter for a newspaper in Maracaibo. After returning to NYC, he wrote articles for various periodicals, including a story for Argosy Magazine about an invasion and attempted take-over of Haiti. He traveled to Cuba to try to interview Ernest Hemingway at his hacienda. Unfortunately, Hemingway was not in when he arrived. He later worked for IBM, the Young President’s Organization, and various advertising agencies. He was a very talented copy editor, who could both write the copy as well as design and draw the advertisements. He then ran a home business with his second wife Nancy Maar, doing public relations, advertising and designing energy-saving programs.

Len was a resident of Stamford and Norwalk Ct for many years. He was a wonderful father who raised five children: Peter Maar; Liza M. Loesch; Michael Maar; Heidi Meyers; and Virginia Pirro. Tragically, he lived to see the deaths of both of his sons, as well as his sister Lori. Late in life, while they both were in their 80s, he married Rita (Purificacion) Garcia, with whom he spent three beautiful years. They traveled to the Philippines together, and he was able to meet her family. Sadly, Rita also died before he did. He is now reunited in heaven with his wife Rita, his sons Peter and Michael, and his sister Lori. We love him immensely and are glad he is at peace. We are planning to hold a celebration of his life and dinner in his honor in the coming months. Please contact Heidi Meyers at heidimeyerslaw4@gmail.com or 347-457-6473 if you are interested in attending.