Don W. LeMay, 93, of Medford, MA, died on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 at the Aberjona Nursing Center and Rehab.
Funeral services were held on Monday, Sept. 11, at the Dello Russo Funeral Home in Medford, MA. Burial followed at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Arlington, MA. Dello Russo Funeral home assisted the family with arrangements.
Mr. LeMay graduated from Hillsboro Community High School in 1947, and later worked briefly for Caterpillar Tractor Company in Peoria.
Mr. Lemay entered the Air Force, serving in Germany, England, Italy, Vietnam, New Jersey, Colorado and Massachusetts, where he retired in 1976 as a senior master sergeant. In 1978, he returned to the US government’s civil service workforce and began his second career with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in Washington D.C.
After a brief stay with the FRA, he transferred to the US Army and served briefly at Ft. Belvoir, VA before relocating to the nearby Pentagon’s Office of the Secretary of the Army where he remained nine years, working as a senior personnel staffing and classification specialist. While in that assignment, he handled not only routine, but a significant number of complex staffing and position classification actions located throughout the Army’s headquarters complex.
Mr. Lemay, transferred to the Department of the Navy’s Boston Civilian Personnel Office in 1988, and was appointed head of that office in 1991, before retiring in 1994.
As USAF Manpower and Management Superintendent and later an accomplished human resources official, he received numerous awards, including the Bronze Star, AF Meritorious Service Medal, the AF Commendation Medal, and several Civil Service Meritorious service performance awards from both the Army and Navy.
He was a longtime member of the Classification and Compensation Society in Washington, DC and the National Association for Uniformed Services in Springfield, VA.
He is survived by his daughter, Susan LeMay; sister, Linda Camp; grandchildren, Ami Y. Martinez and Brandon E. (girlfriend Cheryl Shauger) Martinez; great-grandchildren, Matea, Scarlett, Viviana and Cameron; nieces, Kerri Cravens and Andrea Camp; nephews, Gene Jr. (Jackie) LeMay and John (Jennifer Hartnett) Camp; grand nephews, Dan Cravens, Gene LeMay III, Chris LeMay,Nathan LeMay and Max Camp; grand-niece, Harper Camp; great-niece, Natalie Cravens; great-nephew Victor Cravens; granddaughter-in- law, Heather Martinez and countless dear friends that he gathered over his lifetime.
In addition to his wife he was preceded in death by both parents; brother, Melvin Eugene LeMay and grandson, Byran D. Martinez.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675.
