A Caring Response: Recognizing Employee Lester Addis

“If the world takes something from us on the one hand, God will give us something on the other.”

St. Louise de Marillac

By Sebastian Isaacs, Communications intern

Grounds and Maintenance Worker Lester Addis (left) was honored with a LeadingAge Ohio STARS Award alongside coworkers Brian Kock (right) and Mary Thomas (center) for “representing the heart” of the Sisters of Charity mission.

For those who have never met him on the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati campus, Grounds and Maintenance Worker Lester Addis may seem like just another face quietly passing by as he works to keep the grounds beautiful and well maintained. But to many of the Sisters on campus, Lester is much more than that. He is the kind of person who sees a need, responds without hesitation, and then looks for the next way he can help – all without being asked. It is simply his nature to risk a caring response.

Recently, Lester was honored alongside two other campus employees with a LeadingAge Ohio STARS Award for going “beyond his daily responsibilities to ensure Sisters feel supported and cared for,” according to Director of Human Resources Fallon Lane-David, who submitted his nomination. “Through his daily actions and willingness to help others, Les makes a real difference in the lives of the people around him.”

LeadingAge Ohio promotes these award nominations to “shine a well-deserved spotlight on frontline, non-management team members who make a difference every single day,” and “represent the heart of mission-driven aging services across Ohio.” Alongside recipients Brian Kock and Mary Thomas, Lester embodies the mission of the Sisters of Charity by selflessly caring not only for the Sisters’ home, but also for them.

Sisters Patrick Ann O’Connor and Thelma Schlomer are two close friends who have witnessed Lester’s unrelenting kindness firsthand. Before they knew Lester, they knew his recently deceased sister, Phyllis Ronan, who was a CNA employed in Mother Margaret Hall. Sharing the same kind, caring qualities as Lester, Phyllis became fast friends with Sisters Patrick Ann and Thelma for how diligently she cared for their friend, the late S. Bernardine Kandrac.

It was Phyllis’ recommendation that encouraged Lester to apply for his position in 2019 after he left Christ Hospital. Having spent most of his career as director of operations for Midwest Ultrasound Inc., an independent cardiovascular ultrasound provider serving the tri-state region and Virginia, and later as director of operations at Christ Hospital, Lester had little experience in maintenance work. After leaving Christ Hospital, he worked for his brother-in-law, a cemetery superintendent in Evanston. However, the dangerous nature of that job led him to seek a new opportunity soon afterward.

Trusting his sister that the Sisters of Charity would be a great place to work, Lester began working on campus seven years ago. Since then, it is evident that Lester has found a place where he is appreciated and respected for his hard work.

“If you ask Les to do something, he’ll do it—and he’ll do it well,” S. Thelma shared. Even after suffering a major heart attack that required surgery in 2024, Lester was eager to return, completing part of his cardiac rehabilitation by coming back to work on campus.

Being treated as family by the Sisters of Charity during his recovery has only led Lester to further reaffirm his mission here on campus. He said, “The way I look at it, this is their home. We’re in their home, so we should treat them like family, too.”

“It’s important to him that this place looks great,” said S. Patrick Ann O’Connor. Whether it means weeding, mowing, gardening, or other outdoor maintenance, Lester is always ready to help. He also helps Sisters with their gardens, watering or tending plants when needed. He offers a bottle of water or Gatorade to Sisters working outside and often gives rides back from the cemetery on his golf cart during the summer heat.

S. Marty Dermody attended the STARS Award celebration at the Motherhouse to honor Sisters of Charity employee Lester Addis (right) for his commitment to going above and beyond.

One Sister who has been particularly grateful for Lester’s presence is S. Marty Dermody, who attended the STARS Award celebration at the Motherhouse, because, as she puts it, he “saved” her life. After finishing his shift one afternoon, Les heard someone calling his name from the garden. When he rushed over, he found S. Marty had accidentally twisted her arm between the wooden slats of a bench while reaching for a tomato she had dropped. Without his keen sense to check back in the garden, an area rarely visited by others, she said, “I don’t know how long I would have been there!”

“For the next week, Sisters all told me they heard I saved S. Marty’s life,” he laughed.

Among many other Sisters who have been deeply appreciative of his work, Lester also shares a special relationship with S. Cookie Crowley. Although he joked, “She and I do not have a kind word for one another,” it is evident with Lester that his actions speak louder than his words do.

When Lester learned that S. Cookie had not visited the graves of her infant brother and sister at Calvary Cemetery for a long time, where his brother-in-law worked, he set out to find them and take S. Cookie to visit.

It was as if Lester was fated to serve the Sisters of Charity, who explained after recounting his incredible gesture toward S. Cookie, “You’re supposed to help people, and you’re supposed to respect your elders.”

This commitment to a caring response began when Lester was a young boy growing up in Price Hill, where employees from Santa Maria Community Services often parked along his street. When asked what receiving the award meant to him, he immediately thought of his mother.

“My mom was a good-spirited person. Whatever she had, if you didn’t have it, she would give you half, if not all, of what she had,” Lester recalled. If a young mother in the neighborhood needed help, she would buy an extra loaf of bread or gallon of milk and quietly share it.

It was her inspiring kindness and generosity that helped shape Lester into the person that he is today, and it is the Sisters of Charity who continue to inspire him now.

“He truly lives a caring response,” S. Thelma said. In light of this inspiration, she grinned. “Les is how I hope I can be.”

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