Della A (Leonardi) Tornblom, 66, died peacefully on the morning of Thursday, September 6, 2018 at Rose Monahan Hospice Residence, Worcester. She was born in Worcester, the beloved daughter of Mario and Stephania (Jatranski) Leonardi and had lived in Spencer for nearly 40 years.
Della will be lovingly remembered by her husband of 47 years, Jan P. Tornblom; her son, Jason Tornblom and his wife, Angela of Grafton; her daughter, Heather Simmons and her husband, Kyle of Auburn; her sisters, Jeanne Macklin of Colorado, Kathy Whalen and her husband, Paul of West Boylston and Karen Ricketts of Florida; three grandchildren, Brayden, Lennox and Kase Simmons; as well as several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brother, John Leonardi and her sister, Joan Leonardi.
Della grew up in West Boylston and graduated from West Boylston High School with the class of 1969. She went on to work at Astra Pharmaceutical Co. in Worcester for several years before going on to work in Admissions at WPI. While at Astra she caught the eye of a coworker, Jan Tornblom and it was love at first sight. Della and Jan married in 1971 and lived in Greendale before settling in Spencer. During the 47 years that Della spent at WPI her coworkers and so many of the students became like family to her. She truly had a passion for helping students, consistently going above and beyond to help them establish a happy and healthy college career. Della also enjoyed cooking and caring for her garden, but above all she treasured being with her family.
The Tornblom family would like to extend their most sincere thanks to the staff at the Rose Monahan Hospice Residence for the exceptional care they gave to Della during her stay.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend calling hours from 4 to 8 p.m. on Monday, September 10th at Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden. A funeral service will be held at the funeral home on Tuesday, September 11th at 11 a.m. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute P.O. Box 849168 Boston, MA 02284-9168.