Donald LeStage III

ATTLEBORO - Donald LeStage, III passed away, age 70, on February 14, 2010. He died in the Attleboro, MA home where he had lived for 45 years. The cause of death was heart failure.

Don was born to Suzanne (Garner) LeStage and Donald LeStage, Jr. at the Lying In Hospital in Providence, RI on July 13, 1939. He spent his childhood, along with his two younger brothers, Garner and Dick, on High Street in North Attleboro, MA and attended elementary and middle school there.

He was a boy naturalist whose interests in plants and animals flourished through his experiences as a Boy Scout, summer camper, and tireless wildlife rescuer. In bare feet and sailboats, he explored the shores and shallows of Pleasant Bay on Cape Cod in East Orleans, MA, where his family owned a second home. It is there that he nurtured his own kind of spirituality, one that was dually comprised of the natural world and his relationships, both blood and friends.

Later in life, the boy naturalist gave back through community service: To preserve the green expanse of a 57-acre family farm, he oversaw its donation to the town of North Attleborough. He led a family effort to entrust property to conservation in East Orleans and supported a land restoration project there, which included creating an endangered species preserve. He was involved with the Massachusetts Audubon Society and was an enthusiastic member of the Megantic Fish and Game Club in northern Maine. His most abiding impact, perhaps, will result from what the Attleboro Land Trust accomplished with the help of his leadership – the permanent conservation of hundreds of acres of land.

Following a family tradition started by his father and other family members, he left home at age 14 for The Hill School, a boys’ boarding school in Pottstown, PA. It was here that he developed his singular art of friend making and keeping, which served him far better throughout his life than his underperformance in the classroom hindered him. His loyalty to this school was steadfast for 50 years and manifested itself in his roles as a Trustee, Annual Fund Chair, and head of the Alumni Association. He often remarked that his 4 years at The Hill equipped him with the only compass he ever needed.

At Trinity College in Hartford, CT he majored in English Literature and graduated with the class of 1961. Once again, he chose to distinguish himself outside the classroom as a member of the Theta Xi fraternity, editor of the yearbook, and occasional Dean’s Office visitor.

Although a devotee of his own father’s maxim, “Never let school get in the way of your education,” Don delighted in schools and believed that their physical surroundings and youthful energy were a rich source for both good and community values in the world.

In June of 1961, he fortuitously reconnected with an old friend, Karolyn Linda Cole, from Pleasant Bay Camp. She had been the beautiful counselor, blond and blue-eyed; he was the skinny dining hall grunt who stared at her longingly through the kitchen screen door. With college graduation behind both of them, and with her Registered Nurse’s keen clinical eye, Linda was able to see him for the person he was and man he would be. They were married in March of 1962.

Linda joined Don in Philadelphia, where had been working in sales at the Strawbridge & Clothier Department Store. They remained there until 1963 when, drawn by a force greater than his independence, he dutifully accepted his father’s offer to join the family jewelry manufacturing business, LeStage Manufacturing Company in North Attleborough. By this time, the company was over 100 years old and bore the hallmarks that Don so strongly identified with and championed until he died: quality, service, and integrity. For many years, he traversed the country wheeling a ponderous, black sample case full of jewelry and did what he loved: selling face to face and building relationships around a handshake. His daughter, Julie, and son, Gregg, were born in 1964 and 1965.

When his own father died suddenly at the age of 70 in 1979, Don assumed the leadership of the company, with Garner and Dick rising to the roles of COO and CFO, respectively. Leadership – the idea, acts, and skills of it – became central to the way he saw himself and was seen. And it came to the fore in most aspects of his life. Through his involvement with The Jewelers Board Of Trade, the Boston Jewelers Club, and the 24 Karat Club of N.Y.C., he embodied the principles and shared the joie de vivre that would later make him one of the industry’s most respected and endearing figures.

The last three decades brought recessions, dramatic fluctuations in the price of gold and silver, and great challenges to the American jewelry industry. Through grit, singleness of vision, an unwavering commitment to their customers, and dumb luck, Don, Garner and Dick kept the company stable.

Philosophy per se was never an interest of Don’s; his life view was too concrete. However, he did find a lifetime’s affirmation in one famous essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson entitled “Self-Reliance”. One line in particular – “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string” – suited and served him well. In good times or bad, his own self-reliance and his devotion to work carried him. What carried others was his laugh, which was always at the ready, frequently hearty, and often at his own expense.

In a life of broad and deep commitments, what mattered to him most was taking action to create or to steward things that he believed should last: old institutions, natural habitats, friendship, principles, traditions, homes and homesteads. Above all, he wanted his family to endure. Don is survived by his wife Linda, daughter Julie, and son Gregg. He also leaves his two brothers and a large, deeply-rooted clan. Chief among them, for him, are his five grandchildren and two generations of nieces and nephews. Indeed, one of his most authentic gifts was his ability to connect with children and young people. He made them feel heard and seen – feel that what they said and did mattered. Through them, no doubt, he will endure.

A memorial service will be held at the Murray Universalist Church, 505 North Main Street, Attleboro, MA 02703 on February 26 at 11:00 AM. A reception will follow at the Highland Country Club, 104 Mechanic Street, Attleboro, MA 02703. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either the Attleboro Land Trust, 1417 Park Street, Attleboro, MA 02703 or the charity of one's choice. Funeral services are by Sperry & McHoul Funeral Home, 15 Grove Street, North Attleboro, MA. To sign a online guestbook visit www.sperry-mchoul.com.