Nan Lesan

Nan married Herbert Eugene Sempsrott [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Sydney Sempsrott was christened in in Lebanon Methodist Church, Lebanon, Warren, Ohio, United States.
2. David Sempsrott

Notes:

[LesanRCexp.FTW]

!RESOURCES: Memories of Peggy Fraser Rufner

!NOTES: I first met Robert Carlton Lesan when I was about nine years old. He had married my sister in New York City. He often told the tale of how they met in a bar where she played the piano. After their marriage they went to live in Detroit, Michigan where Sonny, as we always called him, worked as a saleman for the Smithfield Deviled Ham Company. Max brought him home to Lebanon to meet the family. They took me back to Detroit where I spent a month with them living in a tiny two room apartment. Max was not working at this time.

Within a year the young couple came to Lebanon because Sonny was out of work.. They
stayed with my folks for awhile. Sonny got a job selling insurance for Western an and Southern Life Insurance Company. They set up housekeeping on the second floor of a house on the north side of Mulberry St about four blocks from downtown and just a short block or two from Grandma Fraser. Max got pregnant and delivered a baby boy which they named after my father, Thomas Charles. Sonny did fairly well selling insurance and soon they moved to an apartment on the top floor of what was the Old Normal University. The building was located across the street from the Warren Co. Court House. Sonny bought a plymouth coup so he could get around easier on his insurance collections. Their daughter Nan and the second Robert Carlton were born while they lived in these apartments. Sonny spent a lot of hours at the Elks Club in Lebanon. The couple finally bought a little cottage on Highland Ave. They were very proud of their house. Sonny finally lost his job with Western and Southern and went to work selling automatic tire changers. By this time I had completed nursing school, married and returned from Hawaii.

We were living in the old Crosier Apartments. One morning a neighbor came knocking at my door and shouting that Sonny had had an accident. He had slipped on the fire escape at the rear of the Elks Hall He went over the top of the railing and landed on his head in the coal shoot. He crawled from there to the rear of Wyatt' Grill. Everyone thought he was inebriated, so they took him home. I dressed quickly when I heard, and the neighbor took me to the Lesan cottage where I found Sonny in critical shape. He was irrational and
uncontrollable. I over- rode the Dr. that had been called, called an ambulance and took him to Miami Valley Hospital. It was too late to save his life. He died a few hours later of a skull fracture.

Sonny came from a wealthy family. He grew up in Scarsdale, NY. His folks were Christian Scientists. Sonny had been greatlyaffected when his father died of pnuemonia. He could never forgive his motherfor not calling a doctor. After the death of his father, his mother, Rosina, returned to Arkansas where she became a Christian Science reader in Eureka Springs. She visited Sonny and Max once a year. She was an unusual woman. She often seemed cold and aloof to our family, as we were all very outgoing.

Sonny did not go to college. Oh, he tried, but we used to laugh when he would say he had been kicked out of the best schools. His parents gave up when he was thrown out of Antioch College in Ohio.

Sonny had a brother, David, and two sisters, Debbie and Rosemary. All were raised in Scarsdale. Rosemary was the oldest. She was in advertising in NYC. Debbie was married to the son of the AT&T owners. David was a writer and would be actor who was married and had two daughters.

Sonny had been married before he met Max. He had a son and daughter by his first wife. The marriage ended in an unpleasant divorce. His first wife did not permit him to see the children. They grew up never knowing their father.

Despite all of his frailties, his alcoholism, for he was an alcoholic, I loved this man. Knowing that this will be read by his children and grandchildren, I have had difficulty referring to him as an alcoholic, but he was as was my sister. He would have times when he would go many months without touching alcohol, and suddenly he would be off the wagon. I have no doubt that he would have been or could have been a very successful man if he had not been addicted to alcohol. He was well liked and made friends easily. Everyone in Lebanon knew him. He was my friend and the only brother I ever had.

Robert married Maxine Charlotte Fraser about 1937 in New York, United States. Maxine was born on 10 Oct 1912 in Lebanon, Warren, Ohio, United States; died on 16 Jan 1997 in Lebanon, Warren, Ohio, United States; was buried on 18 Jan 1997 in Lebanon, Warren, Ohio, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[LesanRCexp.FTW]

!RESOURCES:
Peggy Rufner's Memories.
!NOTES:

My sister, Maxine Charlotte Fraser, was the first born child of Anna Cheseldine and Charles T. Fraser. She was an attractive, popular girl. She played the piano by ear, but learned to read music under the tutelage of Mrs. Lewis. She was a good student in school. After high School Graduation,she went to nursing school at Miami Valley Hospital. She became a nurse to please her grandmother Cheseldine who was a practical nurse, but she didn't really like being a nurse.

She graduated from the Miami Valley Hospital School of Nursing. Dayton, Ohio in 1933. After graduation she went to New York City and worked at Gotham Hospital. She frequented a local bar where she played the piano for the customers. It was here that she met Robert Carlton Lesan (Sonny) and married him. After their marriage they came home for awhile and then went to live in a small apartment in Detroit. A year or so later they were back in Lebanon where they rented an apartment, Sonny got a job with Western and Southern Life Insurance Co. and their first child, Tom, was born.

They moved to the third floor of the University Apartment across from the Warren County Court House. Both of their other children were born while they lived there. The children were 2 1/2 years apart. Grandma Fraser loved this family, and she and her daughter Mabel helped the young family a great deal. Max worked a lot for Dr. Ralph Young, but not on a perminent basis.

Max and Sonny bought a small house on Highland Ave. in Lebanon. We were excited for them. The boys had the upstairs to themselves and Nan had her own bedroom. Everyone was happy until one night in 1951 when Sonny fell off the fire escape at the Elks. He died two days later from a fractured skull. This was a crucial blow to Max. One from which she never fully recovered.

Max had to go to work. She got a job as a public health nurse in Warren Co. Not long after she took the job, Dr. Harvey offered her a job in his office. I took the Public Health Nurse job so she could work for Dr. Harvey. It was difficult for Max to work and raise her children at the same time. She was always tired, so she began to take uppers to get through the day and sleeping pills to make her sleep at night. She often mixed alcoholic beverages with the drugs. They didn't mix. This was prior to age of drugs in this country.
Through all of Max's problems due to the use of drugs, her kids never deserted her which is a wonderful thing. Despite all of the problems she raised three fine kids with help from no one, other than the kids themselves. As long as Dr. Harvey practiced, Max worked for him. By the time he retired she could no longer work. She sold her house and moved in the apartment upstairs at Nan and Herbs home. She lived there a long time.

Max went to live at Otterbein Home in about 1975 where she was happy living in her own room. She suffered from emphysema. but never admitted to being unable to breathe. She would get together with the family whenever they met. She finally gave in to using a walker. At Christmas 1994 her kids gave her a top of the line walker. She loved it, and once again flew around Otterbein. In 1995 she began to show symptoms of congestive heart failure and had pnuemonia several times. During the summer of 1996 she began to show other syptoms of organ shut down. Max who was ill so much of her life, lived to a a ripe old age of 84. Considering her many illnesses, and her poor state of health for so many years, it wasn't surprising to get a call on 16 Jan 1997 telling me that she had
quietly passed away away after eating her lunch.

I grew up with Max as my idol. I never had a chance of being much like her. She had the looks and the figure that I could never match. She was much loved by all her friends and family. It was unbelievable how many people came to the funeral home to pay their respects. There were so many people that she had helped when she was Dr. Harvey's nurse, and none of them forgot her for a moment.[LesanRC2.FTW]

!RESOURCES:
Peggy Rufner's Memories.
!NOTES:

My sister, Maxine Charlotte Fraser, was the first born child of Anna Cheseldine and Charles T. Fraser. She was an attractive, popular girl. She played the piano by ear, but learned to read music under the tutelage of Mrs. Lewis. She was a good student in school. After high School Graduation,she went to nursing school at Miami Valley Hospital. She became a nurse to please her grandmother Cheseldine who was a practical nurse, but she didn't really like being a nurse.

She graduated from the Miami Valley Hospital School of Nursing. Dayton, Ohio in 1933. After graduation she went to New York City and worked at Gotham Hospital. She frequented a local bar where she played the piano for the customers. It was here that she met Robert Carlton Lesan (Sonny) and married him. After their marriage they came home for awhile and then went to live in a small apartment in Detroit. A year or so later they were back in Lebanon where they rented an apartment, Sonny got a job with Western and Southern Life Insurance Co. and their first child, Tom, was born.

They moved to the third floor of the University Apartment across from the Warren County Court House. Both of their other children were born while they lived there. The children were 2 1/2 years apart. Grandma Fraser loved this family, and she and her daughter Mabel helped the young family a great deal. Max worked a lot for Dr. Ralph Young, but not on a perminent basis.

Max and Sonny bought a small house on Highland Ave. in Lebanon. We were excited for them. The boys had the upstairs to themselves and Nan had her own bedroom. Everyone was happy until one night in 1951 when Sonny fell off the fire escape at the Elks. He died two days later from a fractured skull. This was a crucial blow to Max. One from which she never fully recovered.

Max had to go to work. She got a job as a public health nurse in Warren Co. Not long after she took the job, Dr. Harvey offered her a job in his office. I took the Public Health Nurse job so she could work for Dr. Harvey. It was difficult for Max to work and raise her children at the same time. She was always tired, so she began to take uppers to get through the day and sleeping pills to make her sleep at night. She often mixed alcoholic beverages with the drugs. They didn't mix. This was prior to age of drugs in this country.
Through all of Max's problems due to the use of drugs, her kids never deserted her which is a wonderful thing. Despite all of the problems she raised three fine kids with help from no one, other than the kids themselves. As long as Dr. Harvey practiced, Max worked for him. By the time he retired she could no longer work. She sold her house and moved in the apartment upstairs at Nan and Herbs home. She lived there a long time.

Max went to live at Otterbein Home in about 1975 where she was happy living in her own room. She suffered from emphysema. but never admitted to being unable to breathe. She would get together with the family whenever they met. She finally gave in to using a walker. At Christmas 1994 her kids gave her a top of the line walker. She loved it, and once again flew around Otterbein. In 1995 she began to show symptoms of congestive heart failure and had pnuemonia several times. During the summer of 1996 she began to show other syptoms of organ shut down. Max who was ill so much of her life, lived to a a ripe old age of 84. Considering her many illnesses, and her poor state of health for so many years, it wasn't surprising to get a call on 16 Jan 1997 telling me that she had
quietly passed away away after eating her lunch.

I grew up with Max as my idol. I never had a chance of being much like her. She had the looks and the figure that I could never match. She was much loved by all her friends and family. It was unbelievable how many people came to the funeral home to pay their respects. There were so many people that she had helped when she was Dr. Harvey's nurse, and none of them forgot her for a moment.

Harry married Rosina Locke on 16 Apr 1905 in Eureka Springs, Carroll, Arkansas, United States. Rosina was born on 26 Nov 1883 in Van Buren, Crawford, Arkansas, United States; died about 1951 in Arkansas, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Josiah married Mary Ennis Beard on 7 Aug 1870 in Ringgold, Iowa, United States. Mary was born on 9 Sep 1853 in Marion, Iowa, United States; died on 14 Oct 1939 in Courtenay, Stutsman, North Dakota, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]