Ronald Joseph Lessard

Born in Lynn on November 4, 1947, he was the son of the late Norman R. and Rita N. (Bleau) Lessard. He was a graduate of St.Jean Baptiste High School and Salem State College, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. He worked as a teacher at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute for many years, where he enjoyed passing on his knowledge and love of computers to his students.

Surviving Ronald is his loving wife Carolyn M. (Bessom Verrell) Lessard, his cherished children and their spouses- Kimberly (Lessard) and Brunislaw Wozniak of Manchester, NH, Jeffrey and Laura Lessard of Providence, RI, Jason and Jessica Lessard of Danvers, MA, Jared and Christina Lessard of Lynn, and Paul and Melissa Verrell of Waterboro, ME and the daughter of his heart Remy Tankel Carroll and her husband Jim Carroll of Sterling, MA. He is also survived by his brother Robert Lessard and his wife Jane of Middleboro, MA. He also leaves 18 grandchildren and great grandchildren who were the lights of his life and a myriad of nieces and nephews.

Ronald is predeceased by his former wife, Barbara (Rowe) Lessard and his parents, Normand and Rita (Bleau) Lessard.

Ronald enjoyed logic puzzles, cribbage games and all Boston sports. He loved going to casinos and many vacations involved minor league ballparks and casinos. He loved learning about and seeing the country and took his lifelong dream trip after retirement when he and Carolyn drove the country and saw 47 states. (They missed North Dakota but he said he saw South Dakota so he just imagined it was much the same.)

Ronald will be greatly missed by all who knew him. He was funny and sarcastic, blunt and honest. No one ever wondered where they stood with him because he would tell you flat out if he didn’t like you. He thought his children and grandchildren were the smartest and funniest people in any room (who are we to disagree?) He believed each successive grandchild to be smarter than the previous one. He loved to watch Little League games and Flag Football games featuring his grands.

He held strong opinions on a variety of subjects and had no problem telling you what they were. He would tell the truth as he believed it and never couched his words in politeness. He was often (ok, usually) correct in those opinions which made it difficult to argue with him (you would never win anyway). He was stubborn and generous, fun loving and smart. He didn’t suffer fools.

He was far from perfect but we loved him to distraction and for us he was exactly who and what we needed in our lives and his absence will be felt deeply.

Friends and family are invited to call at the Cuffe-McGinn Funeral Home, 157 Maple St. Lynn on Friday, July 9th from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. His funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Burial will follow at St. Mary Cemetery, Lynn. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to High Point House, www.homehealthfoundation.org/donate or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, www.stjude.org/donate.