January 4, 2024 – West Bend, WI – Phillip Lawrence Lesniak, 80, of West Bend, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully on December 3, 2023, surrounded by his family after a courageous battle with lung cancer.
Phillip grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and then moved to Florida after retiring to be closer to his daughter and granddaughters, both geographically and for bonding. After a few whiles in Florida, Phillip decided to make the move to West Bend to be closer to his son.
In his working life, Phillip was a civil engineer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation and did this until his retirement. He served in the US Navy before his career in the D.O.T. and was assigned to the USS Bushnell. Phillip had fond memories of his career in the Navy and told many stories, including his time in Key West.
From a young age, Phillip had a love and great talent for running, and running fast! Throughout his time in school and through college at North Carolina University, he was widely known for his speed around the track! Later in life, he ran many 5k’s and 10k’s, several of which were with his family. Phillip was also a talented artist, and he used those talents in his engineering career. And, of course, anyone can tell you, he loved to spend hours making original music on the piano.
Phillip enjoyed spending time with his family. Over the last few years, he was able to enjoy many precious memories with his granddaughters and great-granddaughter; a lot of which were on the beach (he loved to run on the beach), on the trail, and at Disney World. Phillip will be dearly missed and always remembered by his family and friends.
Predeceasing Phillip includes his wife, Sherry Lesniak; father, George Lesniak; and his mother, Dorathy Lesniak. He is survived by his son, Joshua P. Lesniak; his daughter, Stephanie R. Lesniak; his granddaughters, Holly Grimont and Heather Grimont; and his great-granddaughter, Lillianna Rose Eakin. Phillip is further survived by his five siblings, Wanda Holley, Alice Carlson, Dottie Cole, George Lesniak, and David Lesniak.
Let us all celebrate the life Phillip had when he was here with us and the fond memories we will carry in our hearts. One of his favorite songs was “See Yourself When All Is New”, a song based on Revelation 21:1-5.
“With that, I heard a loud voice from the throne say: ‘Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God Himself will be with them. And He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning, nor outcry, nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.’”
May we all look forward to the day that death be no more.
