Frank Evans Lesage

August 8, 1925 – January 22, 2023

Frank Evans Lesage, a 40-year employee of The Oregonian Publishing Co. who left a lasting imprint as

the longtime personnel director, passed away Jan. 22 from natural causes in hospice care in Portland. He

was 97.

Frank was born Aug. 8, 1925, in Pittsfield, Mass., to Alaric P. and Blanche Lesage. He moved to Holden,

Mass., as a child and briefly attended Holden High School. He graduated early from St. John’s High

School in Worcester, Mass., and joined the U.S. Navy in 1944. He served on a PT boat before his

discharge in 1946.

He earned an associate degree in pre-law in 1948 at Worcester Junior College, where he played baseball

and sang in the glee club. Seeking new adventures, he drove across the country and enrolled at the

University of Portland. He graduated in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Frank married Joanne Barthel, whom he’d known since childhood, on Sept. 4, 1954, in Westminster,

Mass. They returned to Oregon and settled in the Garden Home area in unincorporated Washington

County and raised six children there. Frank and Joanne were active members of St. Cecilia Catholic parish

in Beaverton, volunteering for many duties.

He was hired as a circulation clerk at The Oregon Journal in 1949, then began work at The Oregonian in

1951 as a Circulation district manager. He moved into sales, first in Classified Advertising in 1953, then

in Retail Advertising in 1957, specializing in restaurant ads. He transitioned to personnel in 1965 and was

named the company’s first full-time personnel director a year later. He served in that capacity until his

retirement in 1991. Among his many accomplishments were pushing for increased diversity among the

newspaper’s hundreds of employees and helping orchestrate the merging of the staffs of The Oregonian

and The Oregon Journal in 1982, which resulted in the largest newsgathering organization on the West

Coast.

Frank was known for his woodworking skills, which he often put to use making toys for his kids; his

ever-present tobacco pipe; his skepticism of modern technology (he wrote only on a manual typewriter);

and for proudly maintaining his New England accent and his devotion to the Boston Red Sox. He was a

longtime member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and of the Order of the Antelope. He

relished the Order of the Antelope’s annual treks to the Hart Mountain wildlife refuge.

He maintained an active lifestyle in retirement. He spent many hours in his backyard workshop, tended

his vegetables and flowers, and did charity work. He was a volunteer in the Society of St. Vincent de

Paul’s food pantry in Beaverton for many years. Frank also was a driving force behind Save the PT Boat

Inc., a Portland-based nonprofit that has restored a derelict World War II craft, PT658, and turned it into a

museum piece.

Frank and Joanne lived in the home they bought in 1954 – making several additions and renovations as

the family grew – until 2022, when they moved to The Stafford retirement community in Lake Oswego.

Frank spent his final days under excellent care at La Bella Vila hospice home in Southwest Portland.

Survivors include his loving wife of 68 years, Joanne; his children, Lisa Lesage (Jim Brown) of Bend,

Pete (Ann) of Tigard, Paul (Noreen) of Lake Oswego, Nanette Robinson (Jim) of Gladstone, Mike of

Gladstone, and Matt (Tammy) of Portland; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Beaverton. Burial

will be at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery. Donations to Save the PT Boat Inc. or the St. Vincent de Paul

Beaverton food pantry are requested in lieu of flowers.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.peggpaxsonspringerfuneralhome.com for the Lesage family