Photo by Joanne Beck
Lester Gill, a U.S. Navy veteran who, as a teenager, used to race motocross and later enjoyed building intricate Lego models, was a dog lover — adopting Shiba Inu Max as a faithful companion for him — and was a meat cutter at Tops Friendly Market in Warsaw while living in Batavia.
After he was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago, Gill also brought a tank full of tropical freshwater fish into his life as a source of peace and comfort while battling his illness with chemo and radiation treatments.
When it seemed imminent that the 52-year-old was going to lose that battle, he checked into Crossroads House in Batavia. The nonprofit’s founder, Kathy Panepento, said that one of his biggest concerns was not about himself, she said.
He was worried about his fish and the tank.
“He said ‘it brought me peace, it brought me comfort, and I don’t know what to do with it,’” she said Thursday at the house on Liberty Street.
Panepento, with the help of four people from a local pet store, was able to arrange for Gill’s fish tank to be relocated to Crossroads. She pointed out the location where it would be, and Gill gave her “a little smirk” of satisfaction, she said. He died March 25.
A small marble table was moved aside and the empty space seemed to be waiting to perfectly accommodate the 55-gallon tank. But not before some maneuvering, lugging and hauling of water.
“It took 10 buckets of water,” James McLaughlin said of the emptying and refilling process. He and his team of colleagues carefully preserved the fish in separate containers, and then carried the tank, he estimated to be about 150 pounds, down a flight of narrow stairs from Gill’s Batavia apartment.
They drove it over to Crossroads and set it all up, complete with the featured fish: Perry the pleco (Plecostomus), a black highly visible character with a very prominent oval-shaped mouth, suitable for scraping food such as algae off the tank walls. He’s a very good poser and not at all camera shy.
Once in place, the tank emitted a soft fountain-like bubble sound that everyone agreed seemed soothing.
“It will bring a lot of joy to a lot of people,” new house Executive Director Tracy Ford said.
Gill’s parents, John and Joyce, had driven from Florida three weeks ago to be with him, and they and two of his siblings were with him when he died.
“Those people who came into our lives are saviors,” Mrs. Gill said. “This is beautiful. I helped at a Hospice, that was not a bit like this. This is fabulous. Everybody was so friendly, and they were so friendly to him. He didn’t want us to come, but we did. ”
It took some coaxing to get them to describe the real Lester — exuding a tough exterior and perhaps a bit of rough and tumble bravado on the outside, he was actually nothing like that, his dad said.
“And anybody that I’ve talked to up here who knows him, even the people at the laundromat this morning said he was the most gentle and kind person,” Mr. Gill said. “Anybody we talked to said the same thing, and that makes me proud.”
Panepento added that, despite being in pain during his time at Crossroads, Lester, a native of Carthage, “was so kind to the volunteers and nurses.”
After his diagnosis, Lester had two surgeries for his cancer, which affected half of his lower face and traveled down his neck and shoulder. He brought his dog Max with him to treatments and Max was with him when he rang the bell known for when a patient is thought to be “cancer free,” Mrs. Gill said.
His dog found a new home with a registered nurse when Lester’s treatments got to be too much for him to walk and care for his beloved pooch. He checked into Crossroads six days before he succumbed to his illness. Before then, however, he was able to communicate his wishes for those fish to be well taken care of.
McLaughlin was happy to oblige. He and his team, including Shawn Gibson, Arianna McGurn and Victoria Safford volunteered their time to go over to Gill's apartment and retrieve the tank and fish and carefully relocate them to Liberty Street.
"I'm proud of the whole team," McLaughlin said. "It's an extension of Lester's dying wishes."
Lester's mom said they were so thankful to have gotten the assistance and for the fish tank to find a new home. They have been gradually clearing out his apartment and didn't really know what they'd do with all of the tropical fish and accessories.
"The tank was the last of it, and that was good," his dad said.
They were both pleased, as well as other family members, that Lester found Crossroads House for his final days, Mrs. Gill said.
"There’s a special place in heaven for people like this," she said.
Lester John Gill is survived by a son, Tyler Gill of Tennessee, three grandchildren, and five siblings: Christine and Michael Tundo of Brownville, New York; James and Darlene Gill of Hayesville, North Carolina; David Gill of Watertown, New York; Deborah Aubin of Utah; and Herbert and Rebecca DesRosiers of Tampa, Florida.
He is pre-deceased by his mother, Norma Hague, and two siblings, Donna Frye and Danielle DesRosiers.
Arrangements are entrusted to the Bruce Funeral Home, Black River. In accordance with his wishes, Lester will be cremated, with burial to follow in Maple Hill Cemetery in Watertown.
Donations in his memory of Lester may be made to Crossroads House, 11 Liberty St., Batavia, NY, 14020.
Online condolences can be shared at www.brucefh.com
Photo by Joanne Beck
Submitted Photo
