Thomas A. 'Gator' Ledonne

Thomas “Gator” Anthony Ledonne, 74, of Cincinnati, Ohio passed suddenly while in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 19, 2024.

The second of four children, Gator was born on March 16, 1950, to Marion (Pete) Ledonne and Margaret Rowland Ledonne in Covington, KY. He is survived by his wife, Janet (nee Matre), son Robert (Erin) Ledonne, grandsons Thomas and Sidney Ledonne, siblings, Margaret Beckstedt, Susan (the late Gary) Bausch, Doug (Deborah) Ledonne, in-laws Lorraine (the lateWayne) Maynard, Martha (Joe) Stickney, Carol (Miles) Mayhall, along with numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. He is preceded in death by his parents and brother-in-law James Matre.

As a young man, Gator met and married the love of his life, Janet, and for 46 years they raised their son, traveled the world, and enjoyed sharing special moments with their grandsons, family, and friends. A family man through and through, Gator was an avid history and genealogy buff and keeper of two family trees, where he would often spend countless hours researching and discovering his roots. Although he never met a piece of watermelon he couldn’t tackle, a coin he couldn’t collect, there was one model sailing ship he never could quite finish. Gator was also the first person to drop everything to help someone else in need – especially if it involved using his tools as he considered himself an amateur handyman.

A recently retired bus driver for Oak Hills School District, Gator often returned to his seat behind the wheel to drive his beloved athletic teams to and from their games and matches. He truly loved watching their competitions and cheering on “his team.” Anyone who ever met Gator immediately knew he had never met a stranger, for his kind-hearted nature and generous spirit were always present.

Gator passed doing what he loved, traveling, with his devoted Janet by his side. His legacy of devotion, love, and loyalty, along with his wickedly dry sense of humor will carry on through his son and grandsons.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests to please consider making a donation in his honor to the Huntington’s Disease Society of America or Team Gleason Foundation. A visitation with the family will be held at Our Lady of Visitation on Monday, October 21, 2024, from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. with a Memorial Mass immediately following at 9:30AM. Condolences and flowers may be sent at www.bjmeyer.com.