Edmund A. Lescoe Jr.

1947 - 2021

Edmund A. Lescoe, Jr., 74, of Farmington, died Monday, July 19, 2021, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with his loving wife, Kathleen, by his side. He was born on April 8, 1947 in Hartford, Connecticut to the late Dr. Edmund and Dr. Jeanne (Bernacki) Lescoe. The oldest of five siblings, Ed grew up in West Hartford, graduated from Hall High School, and attended Greater Hartford Community College, as well as obtaining many fire service certifications over the years. He was a lifelong Catholic, altar server and religious education teacher, who married the love of his life, Kathy, on May 18, 1973. They celebrated their forty-eighth wedding anniversary this past May. A cardiac arrest survivor, Ed was blessed with seven bonus years of living and loving, thanks to God and first responders. Ed's passion was to keep people safe and informed. While he was laser-focused on this mission, he carried it out with an unwavering sense of humor and humility. His family was everything to him and he worked tirelessly to keep them and his community safe. He served as an Airman in the United States Navy from 1965-1968, where he had the dubious distinction of falling off of the USS Saratoga CVA 60, into the Mediterranean Sea, and living to tell about it. When he returned to Connecticut, Ed worked as a News Photographer for The Hartford Times. He photographed Wethersfield Engine 3, operating under the cover of night, at the scene of the fully-involved Emhart Corporation Factory in New Britain. This picture later became the cover photo of the August 1971 Fire Engineering Magazine. Ed used to tell the story of when he was covering a manhunt in Hartford in the early 1970s, hiding in the bushes waiting to get just the right action shot, only to later learn that the fugitive that was being sought was hiding next to him in those same bushes. Ed often carried his spare flashbulbs in his pocket, a practice he chose to discontinue, after his pants caught fire from the flashbulbs one afternoon. He also owned his own photography business and spent years developing black and white photos in his home darkroom, into the wee hours of the morning, always making room for his daughters to sit on the counter in the small room and watch him. Ed worked full time as a Fiscal Administrative Officer for the State of Connecticut, Department of Transportation until his retirement in 2006. To this day, his family has no idea what his job as Fiscal Administrative Officer actually entailed, but it did include buying the tickets for the office lottery pool, coordinating office holiday parties, and occasionally responding from his office in Wethersfield back to Bloomfield for fire calls. Ed was a dedicated volunteer firefighter with the Blue Hills Fire District in Bloomfield from 1969-2003, holding the ranks of both Deputy Chief and Acting Chief of The Department, before he moved to Farmington, CT and joined the Farmington Volunteer Fire Department. Ed was known throughout the Connecticut Fire Service for being an active firefighter, who responded to calls at all hours of the day. He literally slept with his fire boots next to his bed and his pager under his pillow. He responded to calls in his blue mini-van, which was fully outfitted with light bars, radios, sirens, and stocked with every piece of equipment that could possibly be needed by a fire chief prior to the arrival of the first engine on scene. While Ed was passionate about the press and the fire service, his true love was his family. He was a doting father, who welcomed his daughter Mary-Ellen to the Blue Hills Fire Department, when she turned 16. He spent years with his daughter and friend, Ann-Marie, sharing father-daughter activities with her, even when that required him to do things like go camping, where he managed to capsize his kayak and completely submerge himself in 3 feet of water just 5 feet off-shore. Ann-Marie and Mary-Ellen both fondly recall how mundane errands like going to the bank and grocery store would often become exciting, when Ed either dropped them off at the firehouse so he could go to a call, or even better, when he let them ride in the car with him to emergency scenes. Ed rolled full grocery carts into the walk-in refrigerator at the grocery store on more than one occasion, so that he could respond to a call and then come back and finish shopping when he was done. Ed was a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox, former Hartford Whalers, and University of Connecticut Women's Basketball teams. He was a lover of all animals, caring for parakeets, guinea pigs, gerbils, hamsters, fish, frogs, rabbits, and a hedgehog over the years. He once pulled over on the side of the road to pick up a baby duck that had been hit by a car and brought it home. The duck mimicked Ed's walk in a stroll behind Ed in the backyard, spent the night in the bathtub and was relocated to a rehabilitation center the next day. Ed found joy in travelling, being surrounded by family, and in anything that his wife Kathy cooked, as long it wasn't vegetables. Ed leaves his wife Kathy (Walsh) and their daughters Mary-Ellen (Lescoe) Harper and her husband Thomas; Ann-Marie (Lescoe) Sanders and her husband Jeffrey; his grandchildren, Thomas and Shannon Harper; and his siblings Douglas Lescoe; Patricia Tang; Timothy Lescoe and his wife, Kathleen. He is also survived by sisters-in-law, Norine Lescoe, Louise Walsh, Patricia Michalski, Maureen Klapatch and her partner Jerry Roisman, and Agnes Reynolds, as well as brother-in-law Michael Walsh and his wife Janice; and many nieces and nephews. Special thanks go to Barbara Knibbs, who provided unending support to keep Ed safe and comfortable at home, once again proving that friends are family that we choose for ourselves. In addition to his parents, Ed was predeceased by his brother, Terrence Lescoe; his uncle, Rev. Francis Lescoe, PhD; his aunt, Dr. Marie Lescoe; his uncle, Adolf Bernacki; his mother and father-in-law, Helen and Patrick Walsh; his son-in-law, Ritchie Nelson; his brother-in-law, Anthony Tang, his brother-in-law, Edmond Walsh, his brother-in-law, Richard Michalski, and his nephew, Dennis Michalski. The family will receive family and friends on Friday, July 30th from 8:30-10:00AM at the Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center, 301 Country Club Road, Avon, CT 06001. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30AM at Saint Mary Star of the Sea Church, 145 Main Street, Unionville, CT 06085. Following the Mass, Ed will be laid to rest at Village Cemetery in Wethersfield, CT. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, P.O. Drawer 498, Emmitsburg, MD 21727 or to the Franciscan Life Center, 271 Finch Avenue, Meriden, CT 06451. To share a memory or condolence message with Ed's family, please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com.