Obituary for William P. Levesque
William Paul Levesque, 59, of Erie, passed through the Veil at UPMC Hamot on July 17, 2019, with his beloved wife, Erin McCarty, at his side.
He was born on January 14, 1960, in Lyons Falls, NY, where he spent most of his childhood. After graduating from high school in Honeoye, NY, Will's travels took him far and wide to such diverse locations as Philadelphia, PA; Williamsburg, VA; Muskogee, OK; and Milwaukee, WI. In the late 1990s, he returned to Lyons Falls to care for his ailing mom, Carol Baker Levesque, until her death in 2005. His varied jobs included substitute teacher, residence hall director, community organizer and pastor, all outgrowths of his true vocation of friend and encourager.
During his time at Eastern College (now University) in St. Davids, PA, he befriended Beth McCoy, who would go on to marry his roommate, Dana Priest. Years later, Beth struck up an online friendship with Erin, and it was through her that Will and Erin met. In 2012, he relocated to Erie to be with Erin, and they married on May 31, 2014.
Will, most recently a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, nurtured a deep faith drawing from multiple Christian traditions. He cherished both quiet spiritual contemplation and the eucharistic nature of sharing a meal with friends. Despite his own health struggles, he did his best to spread inspiration and believed his love of Jesus to be best expressed through caring for the disenfranchised.
An avid patron of the arts in Erie, Will attended hundreds of theatrical productions, forging friendships with local thespians; offering appreciation, insights and critiques of performances; and rattling the rafters with his booming laugh. He had an extensive knowledge of history, politics and pop culture, particularly movies and television. His rich imagination made him an avid storyteller and a dreamer of big dreams, some of which he was able to bring to fruition.
In addition to his mother, he was preceded in death by his mother-in-law, Corinne Gante McCarty; several close friends, including Beth and his "guardian angel" Michelle Moore; and numerous relatives. Along with Erin, survivors include his father and stepmother, Louie and Pat Levesque; father-in-law Ron McCarty; grandparents-in-law Rev. Marshall and Lois Gante; Dana and his daughter Sarah, former housemates Jeff Moore and Crissy and Tom Diehl and other dear friends; and many siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins, among them his longtime advocate Georgianna Feller.
A memorial service will be held at Presque Isle State Park at a future date and burial will be private. Funeral arrangements were made by the Russell C. Schmidt & Son Funeral Home Inc., 5000 Wattsburg Rd., Erie, 16504. Please visit www.SchmidtFuneralHomeErie.com to sign the Book of Memories.
To honor his memory, please perform an act (or multiple acts) of kindness for, in Will's words, "the addicted, the abused, the abducted, the alienated, the abandoned and the afraid" - or as Jesus put it, "the least of these."
"I am strange when it comes to the subject of death because for me, there is no such thing. 'I'm gonna live forever' not because of Fame but because someone named Jesus loves a dork like me who can't sing, even walk now. I am a failure in the eyes of many, yet I have lived more than most, because He loved me. So despite my flaws, I am loved and get to go to a party, and am I gonna move!!! I am gonna rock with the ROCK!!!" - Will Levesque, 11-10-2009
He was born on January 14, 1960, in Lyons Falls, NY, where he spent most of his childhood. After graduating from high school in Honeoye, NY, Will's travels took him far and wide to such diverse locations as Philadelphia, PA; Williamsburg, VA; Muskogee, OK; and Milwaukee, WI. In the late 1990s, he returned to Lyons Falls to care for his ailing mom, Carol Baker Levesque, until her death in 2005. His varied jobs included substitute teacher, residence hall director, community organizer and pastor, all outgrowths of his true vocation of friend and encourager.
During his time at Eastern College (now University) in St. Davids, PA, he befriended Beth McCoy, who would go on to marry his roommate, Dana Priest. Years later, Beth struck up an online friendship with Erin, and it was through her that Will and Erin met. In 2012, he relocated to Erie to be with Erin, and they married on May 31, 2014.
Will, most recently a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, nurtured a deep faith drawing from multiple Christian traditions. He cherished both quiet spiritual contemplation and the eucharistic nature of sharing a meal with friends. Despite his own health struggles, he did his best to spread inspiration and believed his love of Jesus to be best expressed through caring for the disenfranchised.
An avid patron of the arts in Erie, Will attended hundreds of theatrical productions, forging friendships with local thespians; offering appreciation, insights and critiques of performances; and rattling the rafters with his booming laugh. He had an extensive knowledge of history, politics and pop culture, particularly movies and television. His rich imagination made him an avid storyteller and a dreamer of big dreams, some of which he was able to bring to fruition.
In addition to his mother, he was preceded in death by his mother-in-law, Corinne Gante McCarty; several close friends, including Beth and his "guardian angel" Michelle Moore; and numerous relatives. Along with Erin, survivors include his father and stepmother, Louie and Pat Levesque; father-in-law Ron McCarty; grandparents-in-law Rev. Marshall and Lois Gante; Dana and his daughter Sarah, former housemates Jeff Moore and Crissy and Tom Diehl and other dear friends; and many siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins, among them his longtime advocate Georgianna Feller.
A memorial service will be held at Presque Isle State Park at a future date and burial will be private. Funeral arrangements were made by the Russell C. Schmidt & Son Funeral Home Inc., 5000 Wattsburg Rd., Erie, 16504. Please visit www.SchmidtFuneralHomeErie.com to sign the Book of Memories.
To honor his memory, please perform an act (or multiple acts) of kindness for, in Will's words, "the addicted, the abused, the abducted, the alienated, the abandoned and the afraid" - or as Jesus put it, "the least of these."
"I am strange when it comes to the subject of death because for me, there is no such thing. 'I'm gonna live forever' not because of Fame but because someone named Jesus loves a dork like me who can't sing, even walk now. I am a failure in the eyes of many, yet I have lived more than most, because He loved me. So despite my flaws, I am loved and get to go to a party, and am I gonna move!!! I am gonna rock with the ROCK!!!" - Will Levesque, 11-10-2009