John Leonora - Biographical Information

Biographical Information

John Leonora, the son of Joseph Leonora (March 14, 1883 - November 20, 1942) and Carmela Folise Leonora (April 29, 1888-June 20, 1965), was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, soon after his parents arrived as immigrants from Sicily. They had left their eldest daughter in the Sicilian province of Enna where she had already grown to adulthood, married and had children. Their second daughter had died of influenza in Sicily near the end of World War I.

After Joseph Leonora died in 1942, Carmela Leonora found employment as a hand stitcher in an Italian shoe factory. John became an errand boy for various businesses throughout Milwaukee. At the same time he excelled in school and became a proficient pianist, accompanying and playing in jazz combos. He was an active member of the Italian club at Lincoln High School. Because of excellent grades he was awarded a one-year scholarship at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Upon receiving his B.S. degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, John took an interim position as a laboratory assistant in chemistry and obtained teaching credentials at what is now Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan. There he met Johanna Mae Zwemer, who was working toward a secretarial degree. They later married in 1952. Meanwhile Leonora had returned to Madison and the University of Wisconsin. There he and his wife lived while he completed his Ph.D., obtained a federal fellowship, and embarked on his career as an endocrinologist.

For more than four decades, Dr. Leonora was active in his chosen field of medical physiology. He mentored numerous graduate students, and provided leadership for research conducted in his own laboratory. His lectures were remembered by his students for their clarity and quiet humor.

John was dedicated to his family—his wife, Johanna, daughters Carmela and Andrea, and three grandchildren. In his leisure time he spent hours working in the yard and cooking in the kitchen.