Barbara Ann Johnston (Lesko) Gummersall

Barbara Ann Johnston (Lesko) Gummersall, daughter of J. Farrell and Dorothy Gibbons Johnston, was born on July 11, 1928 in Dayton, Ohio and died on December 28, 2016 in Issaquah, Washington at the age of 88.

Barbara graduated from Julienne High School in Dayton, Ohio in 1946 and Rosary College in River Forest, Illinois with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Art in 1950. Barbara married James S. Lesko in 1953 at Corpus Christi Church in Dayton, Ohio.

Barbara and Jim had six children: Peter, Paul, Julie, Andrew, James Jr. and Catherine. Her son James Jr. preceded her in death in 1963, her husband James Sr. in 1992. Barbara had a particular love for her two daughters-in-law, Annie Scott Lesko and Janet Robertson Lesko. Her brothers Bud and Bob and sister Susannah were especially dear to Barbara.

Jim and Barbara had seven grandsons and one granddaughter: Juli, Ben and Christopher Lesko of Albuquerque, NM; Jimmy, John and Joey Lesko of Overland Park, KS; and Christopher and Jon Bersos of Mercer Island, WA. Richard Bersos, their father, died in 2009.

Jim and Barbara were founding members of St. Monica’s Parish on Mercer Island and Barbara was a lifelong (Roosevelt) Democrat.

On December 8, 2011, Barbara married longtime friend and widower Frank R. Gummersall of Mercer Island. They enjoyed five cherished years together, deeply in love. The foundation of their marriage was mutual respect, a deeply shared faith and an abundance of humor. Barbara’s life expanded to include Frank’s clan: daughter Kim and her husband Jim Hartley, daughter Karen and her son Jason, son Bryan and his wife Maureen and their children Lindsey, Josh, and Sean.

Memorials may be given to Seattle Children’s Hospital, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98105.