Obituary for Henry Richard "Hank" Lescynski
Henry Richard Lescynski
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our dear husband, father, Boppa, and friend, Henry “Hank” Richard Lescynski of Lamoine, Maine on April 4, 2023 after a sudden ill-ness. He was born July 27, 1949 in Brooklyn, NY, the son of Walter S. and Blanche V. (Zawrot-niak) Leszczynski.
Hank grew up on Long Island and graduated from Hicksville High School in 1967. After high school, he attended the School of Visual Arts and NYU’s School of Arts where he studied adver-tising art and theater set design.
In October of 1971, Hank married the love of his life, Nancy Yarsinske, and they lived a few more years on Long Island before relocating from the hustle and bustle to the serene, wooded hills of Richmond, NH. Almost entirely on their own, they built a beautiful log cabin in which they later raised their two daughters.
When he first settled in the Monadnock region, Hank worked as a carpenter in Walpole and later worked at Homestead Mills in West Swanzey and Troy Mills in Troy. He was interested in early American life and was drawn to the machinery of the old woolen mills. He and Nancy also filled their home with many Shaker-style furnishings. Hank was a volunteer with the Richmond Fire Department, Meadowood County Area Fire Department, and various town groups in Richmond.
A great passion of Hank’s was his model train layout. He custom-painted model trains and was well known by model train enthusiasts who would seek him out. For a short time in the 90s, he opened “The Loose Caboose”, a model train supply store in Swanzey. Only a month ago, he was selling some of his custom pieces at a train show in St. Albans, VT. His work lives on in pieces that ride the rails on layouts throughout New England.
Hank also loved cars and car racing, specifically dirt track racing. He and his youngest daughter, Susan, were a racing team for many years. Susan was the driver of go-carts and mini-sprints and Hank was the pit crew. At the time, Susan was one of only a couple female drivers, something that Hank was very proud of.
Hank and Nancy loved visiting Acadia National Park and most family vacations were spent there. A few years ago, they decided to retire to Lamoine, ME, which is close to the park, selling the family homestead in Richmond to their eldest daughter, Rebecca, and her partner, Kevin. During the years spent in Lamoine, Hank got to live his dream of working on an actual railroad by volun-teering with the Downeast Scenic Railroad and he and Nancy spent many hours enjoying their local coastal beach, visiting the “Rock Goblin”, collecting beautiful sea glass, and enjoying a pint and a pizza at the local brewery, Fogtown.
Hank will be dearly missed by his family and friends. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Nan-cy (Yarsinske) Lescynski, of Lamoine, ME; his daughter, Rebecca ‘Jane’ Lescynski, and her partner, Kevin Ellis, of Richmond, NH; his daughter, Susan Lescynski, and her partner, Evan Hor-ton, and his beloved granddaughter, Esmé Horton, of Northampton, MA; and his sister, Diane Simone, and nephew, Aedan, of Centereach, NY.
Memorials will be planned at a later date. Gifts in Hank’s memory may be made to Friends of Acadia https://friendsofacadia.org/membership-giving/other-ways-to-give/tribute-gifts/ or North-western Vermont Model RR Association, 57 River Rd., Suite 1011, Essex Jct., VT 05452. Condo-lences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com.
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our dear husband, father, Boppa, and friend, Henry “Hank” Richard Lescynski of Lamoine, Maine on April 4, 2023 after a sudden ill-ness. He was born July 27, 1949 in Brooklyn, NY, the son of Walter S. and Blanche V. (Zawrot-niak) Leszczynski.
Hank grew up on Long Island and graduated from Hicksville High School in 1967. After high school, he attended the School of Visual Arts and NYU’s School of Arts where he studied adver-tising art and theater set design.
In October of 1971, Hank married the love of his life, Nancy Yarsinske, and they lived a few more years on Long Island before relocating from the hustle and bustle to the serene, wooded hills of Richmond, NH. Almost entirely on their own, they built a beautiful log cabin in which they later raised their two daughters.
When he first settled in the Monadnock region, Hank worked as a carpenter in Walpole and later worked at Homestead Mills in West Swanzey and Troy Mills in Troy. He was interested in early American life and was drawn to the machinery of the old woolen mills. He and Nancy also filled their home with many Shaker-style furnishings. Hank was a volunteer with the Richmond Fire Department, Meadowood County Area Fire Department, and various town groups in Richmond.
A great passion of Hank’s was his model train layout. He custom-painted model trains and was well known by model train enthusiasts who would seek him out. For a short time in the 90s, he opened “The Loose Caboose”, a model train supply store in Swanzey. Only a month ago, he was selling some of his custom pieces at a train show in St. Albans, VT. His work lives on in pieces that ride the rails on layouts throughout New England.
Hank also loved cars and car racing, specifically dirt track racing. He and his youngest daughter, Susan, were a racing team for many years. Susan was the driver of go-carts and mini-sprints and Hank was the pit crew. At the time, Susan was one of only a couple female drivers, something that Hank was very proud of.
Hank and Nancy loved visiting Acadia National Park and most family vacations were spent there. A few years ago, they decided to retire to Lamoine, ME, which is close to the park, selling the family homestead in Richmond to their eldest daughter, Rebecca, and her partner, Kevin. During the years spent in Lamoine, Hank got to live his dream of working on an actual railroad by volun-teering with the Downeast Scenic Railroad and he and Nancy spent many hours enjoying their local coastal beach, visiting the “Rock Goblin”, collecting beautiful sea glass, and enjoying a pint and a pizza at the local brewery, Fogtown.
Hank will be dearly missed by his family and friends. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Nan-cy (Yarsinske) Lescynski, of Lamoine, ME; his daughter, Rebecca ‘Jane’ Lescynski, and her partner, Kevin Ellis, of Richmond, NH; his daughter, Susan Lescynski, and her partner, Evan Hor-ton, and his beloved granddaughter, Esmé Horton, of Northampton, MA; and his sister, Diane Simone, and nephew, Aedan, of Centereach, NY.
Memorials will be planned at a later date. Gifts in Hank’s memory may be made to Friends of Acadia https://friendsofacadia.org/membership-giving/other-ways-to-give/tribute-gifts/ or North-western Vermont Model RR Association, 57 River Rd., Suite 1011, Essex Jct., VT 05452. Condo-lences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com.