Obit: Lesar, John R. #2 (1904 -1974)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Lesar, Smolc, Koschak, Krembs, Mertens

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 10/03/1974

Lesar, John Robert (19 November 1904 – 27 September 1974)

John Robert Lesar, 72, died September 27, at his home after a lingering illness.

Funeral services were held Tuesday from the Hill Funeral Home in Greenwood, and at 10:30 a.m. from the Holy Family Catholic Church in Willard. The Rev. Michael Mertens officiated. Burial was made in the parish cemetery.

Mr. Lesar was born on November 19, 1904, in Ely, Mn., to Frank and Frances (Smolc) Lesar. He arrived in Willard with his parents in 1910. They settled on a farm in the Gorman area. He was educated in the rural schools here. Later he worked in Chicago, Il.

On June 29, 1933, he was married in Willard to Mary Koschak, who survives. After their marriage they farmed in the Gorman area.

On November of 1942, he was appointed postmaster of Willard, and began his duties on December 7, 1942.

Mr. Lesar often stated that not much out of the ordinary had occurred during his 29 years of service.

Mrs. Lesar had assisted at the postoffice as clerk since 1946.

Part of Mr. Lesar’s faithfulness to duty is shown in his records, which indicate 2,500 hours of unused sick leave at the time of his retirement in 1971.

At the time, Mr. Lesar became postmaster, postage was two cents on a first-class letter, and there was still a “penny postcard.”

Willard is a third-class office and rural route operating out of that office. The rural area and the Rock Dam, and Mead Lake area.

Surviving Mr. Lesar, besides his wife are two sons, Donald of Milwaukee, and Bernard of England, and two daughters, Mrs. Fred (Adeline) Krembs of Huntsville, Ala., and Roberta of Appleton. Nine grandchildren also survive; and a brother, Louis of Ely, Mn.; and four sisters: Mary Lesar, Frances Lesar, Anna Lesar, and Agnes Lesar, all of Willard.

He belonged to the Holy Family Catholic Church, and was active in church affairs. He belonged to the Holy Name Society, and was an officer in that organization. He was also a member of the Holy Family Society, No. 136, and served as president of that society for many years. He also was a member of the Knights of Columbus, of Lady of Fatima, and served as town treasurer, and town supervisor of Hendren.