William M. Lesher
Early Life
William Montgomery Lesher was born on May 18, 1889, in Manhattan, New York City, the son of Arthur Lawrence Lesher and Marion Alice Isaacs. He grew up in Rye, New York, at the family residence known as “The Cedars.”
His siblings included Marion “Alice” Lesher, Arthur Lawrence Lesher Jr., Theresa Sniffen Lesher, Stephen Rosson Lesher, Robert Fuller Lesher, Margaret Esther Lesher, Constance Amelia Lesher, and Emilie Theresa Lesher.
By his early adulthood, he had traveled internationally, including residence in Valparaiso, Chile in 1913.
World War I Service
William M. Lesher enlisted on May 14, 1917, in New York City with Troop B, Squadron A Cavalry, New York National Guard, later reorganized as part of the 27th Division and assigned to the 105th Machine Gun Battalion.
After training at Camp Wadsworth, his unit deployed overseas on May 17, 1918. He served in Belgium and France during operations including the Ypres-Lys Offensive, part of the final Allied offensives of the war.
He advanced through the ranks to First Sergeant before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on November 1, 1918, and assigned to Company D, 114th Machine Gun Battalion of the 30th Division. He was later transferred back to units of the 27th Division in early 1919.
He returned to the United States aboard the USS Leviathan in March 1919 and participated in the 27th Division’s Welcome Home Parade along Fifth Avenue in New York City.
He was honorably discharged as a Lieutenant on April 1, 1919.
Life After Service
Following the war, Lesher married Elsie Parsons Cowles, with whom he had a son, William Montgomery Lesher Jr. He later married Elizabeth Marie McMurray, and they had two children, Patricia Genevieve Lesher and Raymond Andrew Lesher.
He lived in Rye, Harrison, Brooklyn, Queens, and later Ridgefield, Connecticut.
William Montgomery Lesher died on October 23, 1951, in San Diego, California.
He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Marie McMurray Lesher; his children, William Montgomery Lesher Jr., Patricia Genevieve Lesher, and Raymond Andrew Lesher; and his extended family.