Edward E. Leslie

April 22, 1946 to May 2, 2020

Edward Leslie died on Saturday, May 2nd, 2020 at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Massachusetts after a long battle with cardiovascular disease. He died on Saturday of internal organ failure with his wife (Bonita Leslie of Centerville, MA) and his daughter and son-in-law (Tina & Christopher White of Hyannis, MA) by his side and his son (Robert Collins) via FaceTime from Boca Raton, FL..

Eddie, as he was affectionately known to his family and friends, was born in (Somerville, MA) on April 22, 1946. He was 74 years old at the time of his passing.

Edward was a successful local business owner and his life was remarkable on so many fronts, especially with the number of lives he touched and the charities he supported.

He is survived by his loving wife, Bonita Marie (Mongelluzzi) Leslie, as well as numerous children, grandchildren, siblings, cousins and other relatives spread all across the United States.

Edward was adopted by Charles and Jean Leslie and grew up in Natick, Massachusetts. Interestingly enough, Jean Leslie's brother and wife (Kenny and Doris Ferguson) adopted Eddie's sister (Lynda “Liz” Donovan) and the two siblings grew up together as cousins, even though they knew they were siblings.

Eddie rebelled at a young age and left home without finishing the 6th grade. He told stories of hitch-hiking across the USA twice before he was 14 years old. During one of these trips to California, Eddie was able to track down and meet his birth father as well as several older brothers. He eventually found his way to the school of hard knocks and learned to survive on the streets of New York City. After finding trouble numerous times, Edward was given the choice to join the service or spend time in Juvenile Detention. He chose wisely joined the Air Force and then became a Merchant Marine.

After his service, Eddie started his career selling automobiles in Stonington, CT. He was a friendly charmer and a people person so he was a natural car salesman and his career immediately excelled to the point he was running multiple car dealerships in CT, NY and Philadelphia. It was at one of those dealerships in Philadelphia, where he spotted a beautiful single young mother with two small toddlers trying to buy a VW Bug. He dismissed the sales person to take over personally and told the young woman if she wanted to buy the car, she would have to go out with him. She abruptly left after telling him he then lost the sale. Of course, Eddie wouldn't take this for an answer and he followed up until he got the sale and the woman.

Early on in the relationship, Eddie contracted meningitis and was extremely sick and lost everything. With his last dime in his pocket, he moved his new wife and children to Cape Cod to recuperate and start over. Cape Cod is where he made his home and his family. After Eddie recovered, he re-started his career living on Cape Cod and once again grew and excelled until he was offered the opportunity to buy his first automobile dealership (Bridgeport Chrysler-Plymouth) through the Marketing Investment Division of Chrysler Corp. He became MID's faster dealership buyout in the history of the Chrysler program.

After several successful years in CT, Eddie sold that dealership so he could fulfill his dream of owning a dealership on his home on Cape Cod. After selling Bridgeport Chrysler-Plymouth, he was able to purchase Moore Motors in Hyannis, MA, which he rebuilt as Cape Cod Chrysler-Plymouth with a beautiful new dealership on North Street in Hyannis. He went on to acquire or open many other dealerships including DodgeLand of Columbia, Central Cape Dodge, Saturn of Hyannis, Saturn of Dartmouth, and Cape Cod Kia.

Eddie was extremely active in the community and supported so many local employees as well. He was instrumental in the creation of the Sheriff’s Youth Ranch in Marstons Mills and was also a huge supporter of the Down Syndrome community, employing a Down Syndrome youth at each of his businesses. Eddie had a soft spot in his heart for disadvantaged kids and all of his charitable givings were directed towards such efforts. He was also actively involved with his churches in giving and supporting those types of causes all over the world with missions.

After Eddie began to divest of his businesses, he was able to retire early and spend a lot of time at his dual residences in New York City and on Cape Cod. He had a real love for animals as well. After Eddie’s adoptive parents passed away, he was able to track down his birth mother (Irene Stern of Syracuse, NY) as well as her daughters. He was able to have a close relationship with her until she passed.

Eddie had a real fear of flying, but he put aside his fears this past Christmas and flew to Disney World in Orlando and enjoyed a joyful time with his wife, his daughter Tina and her family, his grandchildren and his son.

The number of lives that Eddie touched was unheard of and his love, generosity and charity was an example for us all. Edward Leslie will be missed!

Due to the current Covid-19 Pandemic and local stay at home orders, there will be a viewing held at the Doane Beal & Ames Funeral Home located at 160 West Main Street in Hyannis, MA 02601 on WEDNESDAY, MAY 6th from 11 AM until 2 PM followed by a private immediate-family only graveside service. Social Distancing will be enforced with a maximum of 10 people allowed in to the Funeral Home at a time and face masks will be required.

However, there will also be a Celebration of Life Memorial Service to be held later this summer. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations in Edward's name, be made to a CHARITY of your choice.