Howard F. Lehr, 73, passed away unexpectedly while on vacation in Dublin, Ireland on June 25, 2014. Beloved husband of the late Nancy G. Lehr, he leaves behind his daughters Virginia G. Lehr-LaGanke, of Bellingham, MA and Cynthia J. Holden and husband Thomas, of Arden Hills, MN, his grandchildren Matthew J. LaGanke and Nicole G. LaGanke as well as his second wife, Colleen McKenney Lehr of Jamaica Plain.
Born on December 10, 1940 in Dorchester, MA to parents Howard R. Lehr and Ann Pastore Lehr, he moved to Holliston, MA in 1961 and has maintained a residence in the town since that time. Howard resided in Jamaica Plain for the past four years where he had attended the First Parish Dorchester Unitarian Universalist Church and was most recently a member of the First Parish Brookline Unitarian Universalist Church.
An International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 103 member since 1956, Howard had just received his 56-year pin recognizing him as a union member. Howard was the owner of Suffolk Electric Company based in Jamaica Plain. He was an active member of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) until he retired and even after retirement he regularly attended association meetings. Howard served in such capacities as NECA Governor, President, Vice President, and Treasurer and on many of the committees. He also sat as a management Trustee on the Local 103 benefit funds. As a contractor, Suffolk Electric worked on many buildings in the Boston skyline providing electrical services to many institutions, hospitals and notably the Boston Globe. Howard was always proud to point them out to his family as he drove by.
Howard enjoyed many hobbies and outdoor activities including fishing with his grandson. He loved traveling and cruising throughout the world as well as annual family vacations on Cape Cod and in New Hampshire.
Howard was a life-long learner who valued education, so it is fitting that a memorial scholarship fund has been established through NECA. We ask that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Howard F. Lehr Memorial Scholarship Fund to assist future electrical scholars at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA. Please make checks payable to “NECA” and note in memory of Howard F. Lehr in the memorandum. The mailing address is Electrical Contractors Association, Boston Chapter, 106 River Street, West Newton, MA 02465
A wake will be held on Monday, July 14 at at the Local 103 Hall, 256 Freeport Street, Dorchester, from 9 am to noon, with a service at noon and a reception immediately following. Burial will be private at Lake Grove Cemetery in Holliston.