William “Bill” Lesmeister
Monday, September 24, 1928
Date of Death:
Monday, June 4, 2018
Age:
89 years old
Visitation
Date: Friday June 08, 2018
Time: 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location: River Park Chapel at Macken Funeral Home [ view map ]
Second Visitation
Date: Saturday June 09, 2018
Time: 9:30 am
Location: Church of the Resurrection Catholic Church [ view map ]
Funeral Service
Date: Saturday June 09, 2018
Time: 10:30 am
Location: Church of the Resurrection Catholic Church [ view map ]
Burial
Location: Calvary Cemetery [ view map ]
Monday, September 24, 1928
Date of Death:
Monday, June 4, 2018
Age:
89 years old
Monday, September 24, 1928
Date of Death:
Monday, June 4, 2018
Age:
89 years old
William “Bill” Lesmeister
William F. “Bill” Lesmeister passed away on Monday, June 4, 2018 at the age of 89. Bill died in his home; living independently right up until the end.
Bill was formerly married to Shirley Kling Basiliere. He spent many loving years dancing with his longtime girlfriend, Sharon Rabine.
Bill was born on September 24, 1928 in Halliday, North Dakota to Stephen and Marie Eva (Gerhardt) Lesmeister. Bill was one of nine children.
When Bill was in 11th grade, his father passed away and he stayed home to help raise his brothers and sisters. Mr. Lesmeister was an honest, hard-working man. He worked at his father’s gas station and moved homes in North Dakota.
In 1955 he moved to Rochester . He worked moving homes with his brothers and selling fire trucks and fire equipment. He was general manager of GMC Truck Service Company while single-handedly raising his three children on Golden Hill in Rochester. In 1970 he opened his own business, Lesmeister Truck Center located at 4120 South Broadway in Rochester. He worked there with his sons, daughter and grandsons until he retired at the age of 85 in 2013. He was heavily involved in Cub and Boy Scouts through St. Francis Catholic Church in Rochester. He was past president of the MN Diabetes Association of MN and president of the local chapter. He started the Rochester Diabetes Bike-A-Thon which has raised over $300,000 for diabetes research. Bill was actively involved in the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, and both St. Francis and Resurrection Catholic Churches.
He is preceded in death by his siblings: Tony, Marcel, Leo, Harry and Fred.
Bill leaves behind his sons Mike and Tim both of Rochester and daughter Teresa (Kevin) Doran of Mendota Heights, MN. He loved babies and was very proud of his grandsons; Jesse, Jason, Mike and Jake, granddaughters; Emma and Eva, five great grandchildren; Jackson, Jace, Grace, Amelia and Evelyn and his sisters Katherine, Irene and Bernice.
Mr. Lesmeister cared deeply for his family and his community. He was also an avid lover of flowers and animals.
Papa will be greatly missed by all of us.
The Funeral Mass for Bill will be held at 10:30AM on Saturday, June 9, 2018 at Resurrection Catholic Church in Rochester with Father Peter Schuster officiating. Visitation will be held from 5:00pm until 8:00pm on Friday evening, June 8, 2018 in the River Park Chapel at Macken Funeral Home and one hour prior to the Mass at the church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery of Rochester.
Memorials are preferred to Paws and Claws of Rochester.
Online condolences are welcome at www.mackenfuneralhome.com
Condolences
The family of William “Bill” Lesmeister has received the following condolences.
Mike, Tim and the whole family,
I just noticed that Bill was called home by Heavenly Father. I'm feel for you all as you no longer have that Great Patriarch of your family with you.
Please accept my sincere condolences as I miss Bill as well!
God Bless your family with Peace and healing as you live with this loss.
Such a kind man Mr Lesmeister was. We moved to his neighborhood in 1957 and our family knew from the start he was going to be a great neighbor. Over the years I would see him & he always stopped to chat & ask me about my parents. My thoughts are with his children & their families. He has a wonderful life to celebrate!
Our Deepest Sympathy to the family on this sad occasion.
Bill was a great man who was always so nice to our family.
Our family will be thinking of you during this difficult time.
The Margotta Family.
My sincere condolences at the loss of your father. I will be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
Heather
Bill was a great man. You must be so proud of him. He will be missed by my husband and myself. I will always remember his smile and his laugh. So sorry to hear of his passing.
We are in Tennessee & will not be home in time for the visitation or funeral but send our sincere condolences to all of you. Prayers coming for the family & Bill?
Terese and Family...
I am so sorry to hear about Bill. My greatest memory of Bill, is to had met him at Rochester East Health Services while he would visit Sharon...As you know....I had many great dances with him along with your company at times.. I will truly miss that Extreme Kind Wonderful Man I met.and..his most outgoing loving and caring personality..to all. Yes All of You will sure miss him. You are so blessed to have had him in your life along with great memories Bill is leaving with you.
My Deepest Sympathy Love Prayers to All.
Kathy Hammel
Our deepest condolences to all of the family. We know that losing someone close is hard and takes its toll on a person. The Lord will guide you through this difficult time. Your dad was a good man.
Thinking of your family during this difficult time. You guys have always taken good care of me at the shop, whether it was the old Lesmeister Truck Center that Bill started, or your new ventures since then. I know the work ethic and customer service you all have shown me over the years is a testament to Bill and is something that has been passed down through the generations.
Warm regards and best wishes.
Rick Brink
Thinking of you during this difficult time.
Our mother (Barbara Lesmeister Keller) always thought of the Lesmeister boys as the brothers she never had.
She always had fond memories of their days in Halliday.
Brenda Keller
Park Rapids, MN
I am truly thinking of all of you at this time. It's a very hard time for all of you, but in time, all the happy times with Bill will come back. Like all the fun times we had on Golden Hill when my family visited Aunt Marge. My sincere thoughts and prayers are with you.
I didn't know Bill real well, but I worked at Apache Mall at the Guest Service Center and Bill walked the mall every day. When he passed my Kiosk he always greeted me with a smile and something positive to say.
My brother knew him better than I did and we would go out for dinner on Friday nights. Quite often we would see Bill at Culver's. Lately we saw him on Friday nights at Perken's with one of his sons.
He truly was a very well known and liked and loved man.
I am sorry to hear of Bill's passing. I went to high school with his daughter (Hi Teresa!!) & am familiar with Mike. I can remember thinking WOW in high school when I learned that he was a single parents raising 3 kids.
Love & Prayers to you all,
Sarah Sperling