Raejean (Lancaster) Lester, 90, of Nashua, died on Sunday, April 2, 2023 surrounded by the love of her family.
Widow of the late Donald Lester, Raejean was the daughter of the late Ruby and Floyd Lancaster and step-daughter of the late Edgar Lane. She was born in Pittsfield, Maine and graduated from Gorham State Teacher’s College (now known as USM Gorham). Her first teaching job was in Groton, CT, where she met her first husband, Jerry LeBlanc. They raised their three children in Mystic, Connecticut where Raejean worked as a substitute teacher and at the Mystic Seaport Museum.
In 1979, Raejean moved to Nashua, NH with her children and worked at Indian Head and NFS banks as a teller. This is where she met her husband Donald, and they married in 1985, enjoying their retirement years together until Donald passed away in 2017. Raejean also worked part time at the Nashua Welcome Center until it closed in 2010.
Raejean was known for her loud and boisterous laugh and silly sense of humor. She loved to play games, do word puzzles, and was a square dancer for many decades. She was an active member of the Main Street United Methodist Church, where she led Disciples classes and served as a Joyful Shepherd. A volunteer for many years at the Southern NH HIV/AIDS Task Force, she was an outspoken advocate during the height of the epidemic. Raejean’s greatest joy was her family, and especially loved spending time with her grandchildren, taking nature walks, making cookies, and sewing costumes for them.
In addition to her husband Donald, Raejean was predeceased by her sister Evelene and her husband Ken Cianchette; her sister-in-law, Carol Lancaster; her brother-in-law, Glen Riley; and step-brother, Edgar Lane, Jr.
She is survived by her three children, Randall LeBlanc and his wife Lori of Las Vegas, NV, Barry LeBlanc and his wife Linda of Merrimack, NH and Wendy LeBlanc and her partner Brad Van Dyke of Hudson, NH; her grandchildren, Jessica LeBlanc and her partner Shawn Neacy, Aaron LeBlanc and his wife Alexsandra, Michelle LeBlanc, Whitney LeBlanc, and Morgan LeBlanc; her great-grandson, Finn LeBlanc; her siblings, Leigh Lancaster of Nashua, NH, Alan Lane of Newbury, NH and Carol Riley of Hudson, NH; and several nieces, nephews, step-children and step-grandchildren.
Whenever anyone told her that they loved her, she would reply “thank you” and this became a family joke. The last words she spoke, to her granddaughters after they reminded her how much they loved her, were “thank you”. She always knew and appreciated how much she was loved. And boy, did she love to laugh.
Calling hours will be held at the FARWELL FUNERAL HOME, 18 Lock Street, Nashua on Friday, April 7th from 4 to 7 p.m. Her funeral service will be held in the Main Street United Methodist Church, 154 Main Street, Nashua, Saturday, April 8th at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery. Family and friends are invited to attend. Memorial donations may be sent to Main Street United Methodist Church, PO Box 1517, Nashua, NH 03061. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.farwellfuneralservice.com
