A cousin writes...

I’m Leslie and Renee’s cousin Stephanie in PA. My mom Judi was their first cousin. Les was half way between the generations, which was great for me. It’s so very hard to accept losing Les to such a senseless accident. Thank you for creating the site. I can’t read the comments without crying, but I’m sure it’s comforting for Renee to be witness to Leslie’s legacy. He influenced so many, he was a true teacher. I’ll miss him, especially around the holidays. Every Christmas Eve was spent at my Aunt Becky’s home.

At Thanksgiving I just told my son about all the times Les would take us sled riding at Buhl Park back home. We would all pile on one sled, falling off all the way down. We take our children to the same sled riding hill when we’re home.

Les even let us crawl all over him when he had a body cast on. He would wrestle us all, me, Julie, Brian, and Craig. He paid attention to us (the younger cousins), he always spent time with us had conversations and made us feel special. I guess you can replace the word “us” for “me”. He made feel special by actually listening to me.

I’m thankful that I was able to spend time with Les on his last few trips home. Dinner, wine, and laughing. I’ll miss my cousin, I loved him.

Good thoughts and Blessings,

Stephanie DelFratte