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Obituary

Michael Cosmo Leonardo, age 34, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Etna, Ohio on Saturday, May 23, 2020. Preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Cosmo and Rosemary Leonardo and maternal grandparents, Robert and Beverly Stought. Mike was born on June 4, 1985 in Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Hilliard Darby High School in 2003 where he excelled in music. After high school, Mike attended Columbus State University and Ohio University in Athens, where he majored in Music Production. After college, Mike started his career at Nationwide Insurance, before moving on to become an agent for State Farm Insurance and then spent multiple years overseeing logistics for the NTN Buzztime Broadcasting Company. At the time of his passing, Mike was employed by TekSystems where he served as a Data Center Technician at Amazon's Dublin, OH location. Outside of his professional career, Mike had a true passion for both music and sports. His knowledge and love of music was beyond reproach and extended into his skills as a top notch bass and guitar player. Additionally Mike was a member of several bands and often collaborated with his band-mates to write a multitude of original scores that they brought to life at recording studios, as well as throughout local venues across central Ohio. If Mike wasn't playing music, he was attending local shows as he took a personal interest in seeing as many new bands as possible. Mike was also an avid gamer who always enjoyed competing against his friends. When it came to sports, Mike was an avid and loyal fan of all things WWE related, as well as his favorite teams including the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Mike loved attending games in person and he and his father traveled to many different sports venues over the years to cheer on their squads. Mike was also a wonderful and loving family man who will be sadly missed by those surviving him including his father, Rich (Debbie) Leonardo; mother, Juli (Steve) Benware; sisters, Laura (Ryan) Horn and Katie Benware; nieces, Frankie and Hollis Horn. Many loving aunts, uncles, cousins and close, lifelong friends. Friends may join a virtual memorial celebration of Mike's life at a weekend date yet to be determined, but will be announced via Facebook, as well as on THE JOHN QUINT TREBONI FUNERAL HOME, 1177 West Fifth Avenue (Columbus) condolences page - www.johnquint.com. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to the Hilliard Special Olympics, 2140 Atlas Street, Columbus, Ohio 43228 Andrea Fogt (Local Coordinator) (614) 664-7847. FOR A SPECIAL MEMORY PLEASE GO TO: https://michaelleonardo.lifeweb360.com