Leo L. LeMay

Leo L. LeMay, 97, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Friday, November 15, 2024 at his home in Dracut. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather and was born in Lowell on July 23, 1927 to parents Lucien and Angeline (Pintal) LeMay.

He was raised in the Pawtucketville section of Lowell with a large family of brothers and sisters and moved to Dracut in 1953 with his bride Annette (Gaumont) LeMay, who predeceased him in 2005 and with whom he had five children; Kenneth, William, Steven, Elizabeth and Peter, who passed away in 2017.

Leo was a veteran of World War II, having served in the Navy in the Pacific theater. After the war he had additional technical training that served him well at Raytheon Corp where he worked for several years.

In the early 1960’s he decided to strike out on his own and purchased a guest house at Hampton Beach, NH that he and Annette named the “Lee Ann Villa.” That purchase turned out to be a pretty good move as he then parlayed that into a couple more businesses, “Lee Ann Pizza and Grinders,” also at Hampton Beach and then two more restaurants, “The Buckingham” in Lawrence and “The Heritage” in Lowell.

Leo was a member of several veterans’ organizations including, the Franco American War Vets, the VFW Post 662 and the Dracut American Legion.

He was a dedicated Catholic and became a lector at Ste. Marguerite d’Youville Parish for many years and was also involved in several church related organizations like the Knights of Columbus and the Saint Vincent de Paul Society.

He enjoyed ice skating, biking and singing in the chorus. He participated in several Tour de Lowell bike races over the years and used to regularly ice skate at the Billerica Forum. He had a fine tenor voice and was active in the Dracut Community Chorus. In his later years, he had a large circle of friends who got together weekly to bowl, play cards, go out to lunch and in general, have a grand old time!

He spent many memorable summers at the family camp at Cobbetts Pond in Windham, NH with his wife, children and extended family and in later years with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Leo is survived by his sons, Kenneth LeMay and his wife, Joyce of Hampton Beach, NH, William LeMay of Nantucket and Steven LeMay and his fiancé, Judy of Windham, NH; his daughter, Elizabeth Anderson and her husband, Michael of Dracut; his eight grandchildren, Ryan and Jessica LeMay, Jeffrey and Jonathan LeMay, Timothy, Christopher, Katie and Amanda Anderson; several great-grandchildren; his two brothers, Armand LeMay of Lowell and Richard LeMay of Billerica; as well as many other family and friends.

He was predeceased by his brothers, Gerard, Henry, Paul and Robert LeMay and his sisters, Therese Daniels, Marguerite Leakeas and Jeannette Assadorian.

Relatives and friends may call at the McKENNA-OUELLETTE FUNERAL HOME, 327 Hildreth Street, Lowell on Thursday, November 21, 2024 from 4 until 7 PM. His Funeral Mass will take place at 10 AM on Friday, November 22nd in Ste. Marguerite d’Youville Church, Dracut. Burial to follow at St. Joseph Cemetery, Chelmsford.