John Lesnefsky, Jr., a long time resident of Ouray and Montrose, Colorado, passed away on April 11, 2022 at St. Anthony’s North Hospital in Westminster, Colorado at the age of 79. He is survived by his two sons John Lesnefsky III and Warren Wayne Lesnefsky. Debra Lesnefska is wife of John III and mother to son Kazimir and daughter Lana. Melissa Kauffman is the wife of Warren and mother to daughter Justine and son Evan. John Lesnefsky Jr. is also survived by his two brothers, Joe Lesnefsky and Richard Lesnefsky.
John was born in Peckville, Pennsylvania on November 16, 1942 to John Lesnefsky and Anna Lesnefsky (Cenitch), and eventually was the eldest of three boys. He, Joe and Richard (aka “Dick”) attended the Milton Hershey School for Boys in Hershey, PA after their father passed away and their mother was unable to support them financially. After graduating high school, and with support from the Hershey School Trust, John attended Denver University (DU) where he majored in advertising design and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts.
After graduating from DU, John married Sara Rowser (now Tetting), who soon gave birth to John III. John enlisted in the Army’s Officer’s Candidate School and was deployed to Vietnam in 1968 as a commissioned officer (1st Lieutenant) in the Army Corp of Engineers. After his tour of duty and an honorable discharge from the Army, John and Sara moved to Denver, CO where Sara gave birth to Warren. In 1971, John and his family moved to Ouray, Colorado where he joined his father-in-law’s (Wayne Rowser) real estate business.
In addition to real estate, John was known for his volunteering through the Elks. John joined the Ouray Elks Lodge 492 in 1973, and served in nearly every office over the next 17 years, including Grand Exalted Ruler, Exalted Ruler, District Deputy, Trustee and Secretary. John ended his official Elks volunteerism as the Ritual Coach. John was proud to be an Elk and loved what Elkdom stands for: helping others, no matter who.
After 36 successful years running Lesnefsky Real Estate, John sold the business to Peggy Lindsey and J. Gary Dunn, and retired to Montrose, CO where he lived and golfed happily at Cobble Creek.
In August of 2020, John was officially diagnosed with stage four COPD and Ischemic Dementia. His family made the difficult decision to move John from his home in Montrose to assisted living/memory care facilities in Thornton, CO near his son Warren where his health and care could be watched after. In his life up until Dementia overtook John, friends and family knew him as a loyal friend, a hard working Christian man, a loving father and grandfather, and an avid golfer.
An Elks Memorial will be held for family members and Elks members from 2PM to 3PM upstairs at the Ouray Elks Lodge on June 25th, followed by an open house celebration of life open to all other friends of John’s.
John’s family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Colorado Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association through the Ouray Elks Lodge fundraising. Send donations to Ouray Elks Lodge 492, PO Box 647, Ouray, Colorado 81427.
