Edward (Ned) H. Lesesne, Jr.

Edward (Ned) H. Lesesne, Jr passed away peacefully on May 21, 2025 at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community in Asheville, NC.  Ned was born on July 20, 1943 to Edward Huguenin Lesesne, Sr and Sarah Frances Brodie Lesesne. He was beloved from the moment he arrived in this world, living in Barnwell, SC surrounded by his adoring mother, grandparents and great aunts and uncles while his father was serving in the Pacific. When Ned, Sr returned from war, the young family moved to western North Carolina, where Ned developed a lifelong love of the mountains. He spent his summers as a counselor at Camp Daniel Boone, hiking, camping and working on the waterfront. Ned was a quiet leader from early on, starting with his role as a favorite big brother to his three younger siblings.  Going to Lee Edwards High School in Asheville, he became an Eagle Scout, joined a foreign exchange student delegation to the Philippines and went to UNC on a Morehead scholarship. At UNC, Ned joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and met the love of his life, Jane Dankworth. Jane and Ned married and became the devoted parents of two daughters, Piper and Sydney.  Ned joined the medical profession, training at UNC Medical School before doing his internship at the San Diego Naval Hospital.  He completed his residency in family practice at the Medical University of South Carolina and then joined Midway Medical Center in Haywood County, NC in 1977, where he practiced until his retirement in 2006.

Ned’s love of the North Carolina mountains was matched only by his fondness for the South Carolina low country. He and Jane built a home on a deep water creek near Edisto Island, SC and kept a flotilla of sailboats, motorboats, a kayak, rowing shell and paddle boards to ensure that the creek could be enjoyed by family and friends in every way possible.  But Ned’s greatest joy seemed to come from ridiculously hard outdoor adventures, like finishing the Assault on Mount Mitchell with its 11,100 foot ascent, biking the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway in 3.5 days, completing numerous marathons and triathlons and captaining sailing trips near and far. He was also a skilled woodworker and made beautiful furniture and even an incredible wooden boat that his granddaughter recently used as the getaway vehicle after her wedding vows.  He is survived by his wife, Jane Lesesne; his daughters, Piper Lesesne Trelstad (Brian Trelstad) and Sydney Lesesne Heasley (Cressler Heasley); his four grandchildren, Catherine Trelstad (Matthew Firth), Eliza Heasley, Trel Trelstad and Edwin Heasley; his siblings, Sally, Liz and Robert Lesesne (Margaret Wueste Lesesne) along with numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service for Ned Lesesne is planned for 2pm on Saturday June 7, 2025 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Canton, NC. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the Friends of the Mountain to Sea Trail (mountainstoseatrail.org) to support Hurricane Helene recovery efforts or to the Coastal Conservation League (coastalconservationleague.org).

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