Les Saunders passed away on March 14 at the age of 91 at Our Island Home. Les had been a bartender at the JC, and a maker of the doughnuts at the Downeyflake. I first met him in the late 70’s or early 80’s. He would bring in a roll or two of film every few days, and then order blow ups of his best photographs. I assumed he was selling them, but one day asked, and no, he was not. He was just giving them away, hundreds of them. I tried to give him a discount, and he said thanks, but no thanks. He was happy to pay the price, and didn’t have much else to spend his money on.
You’ve seen Les, shuffling along in his latter days at a paltry pace, head held proudly up over his cane and body bent forward about his middle. Tourists must have seen a curmudgeony old man insistent upon stubbornly slowing down their day when he stepped into the street to cross. I saw a man who would “just keep truckin on” ’til his dying day, and that he did. Not much could keep him from his 11:30 lunches at the A.C. on his own stool and with his own mug.
As Steve Turrentine, who supplied this photograph, said, “people like Les only come around once in a lifetime.” Pictured with Les are Bobby Short, Brian Gallagher, Steve Turrentine, Jerry Blitefield and Brian Pluff.
Les’ friend Mark Watson told me that Les wanted to be cremated, but he didn’t want his ashes spread over the ocean. Why? “Because I can’t swim.”
A service will be announced soon. See also Mary Lancaster’s piece in the Nantucket Independent.
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