Leo Luca Ruggiero passed away peacefully on November 2, 2021.  His family's many remembrances of Leo include his love of life and music and his unfailing support for the dreams of his children and grandchildren.  His grandchildren described him best: "He always had a smile on his face and a song in his heart. Papa was a man who knew what he wanted out of life and set about making that happen. He wanted to drive fast cars, fly planes, launch rockets, and raise a wonderful family.  He did all of those and more, living, laughing, and loving life.  Always an encourager, he raised daughters who are smart, diversely talented, and ambitious. Papa loved aerospace, but was always grounded, fostering a good sense of humor.  A veteran, a pilot, an engineer, a father, a musician and many more. What wasn't Papa?  He will be missed by many and will always watch over us. He was a hero and a role model.  Fly higher than you have ever flown Papa. Godspeed."

Leo was born on July 20, 1933, to Mercurio and Rosalie Ruggiero of Queens, New York. He grew up in Queens, served in the U.S. Army, and graduated from City College of New York in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering.   His first engineering job was with Bendix Corporation in support of the Pershing Missile, which was implemented by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency under the direction of Dr. Werner Von Braun and his team. Shortly after beginning work for Bendix, Leo was transferred to Cape Canaveral, and became an inertial guidance and control engineer supporting the Pershing Research and Development Flight Control Program.

Leo was a talented musician, playing the guitar and piano by ear and was a private pilot. While playing his guitar on the beach in Florida, Leo drew the attention of Gail Mason, his future wife, who grew up in Oriental, N.C.  Leo married Gail on May 25, 1963, and she traveled with him throughout the Southwest, eventually blessing him with four daughters.  When he wasn't working or spending time with his family, Leo enjoyed driving his 1959 corvette, flying, and dancing to Latin and Jazz music.

After Pershing, Leo was test manager on the Skylab Orbital Workshop's Apollo Telescope Mount (America's first space station) which flew in 1973. He continued working on aerospace programs like the Hubble Space Telescope and Shuttle Rocket Booster in Huntsville Alabama. In December 1989 he joined The Boeing Corporation's International Space Station team (ISS) as Systems Staff Engineer.  He supported the development, design, manufacturing, integration, and test program phases of the ISS. He provided technical Mission Support at the Huntsville Operation Support Center to the ISS subsystems and retired from Boeing in January of 2001 after the USS Orbital Laboratory was docked and verified as operational. Leo spent his last work years mentoring young engineers and imparting his wisdom, work ethic, and love of science and spaceflight.

Leo was preceded in death by his parents and his beloved daughter Nicole Ruggiero. He is survived by his wife Gail Mason Ruggiero; siblings Francis Cappuccio and Ciro Michael Ruggiero; daughters Michele Banish, Maria Lademann, Dara Rickles; and grandchildren, Kathryn Banish, Brittany Lademann, Victoria Lademann, Alec Lademann, Luca Rickles, and Zanne Rickles. Private celebrations of Leo's life will be held in a few cities he called home. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made to science programs for children or plant a tree at local community gardens, for Leo recited "Woodman Spare That Tree" to his children all of their lives.