Paula Joanne George

Paula George, known to the family as “Gigi”, passed away peacefully at age 84 on April 28, 2024.  Paula was born on June 30, 1939 in Biddeford, Maine to Leo P. Lessard and Germaine B. (Tardif) Lessard.  She graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in 1958 and the University of Maine Orono with a degree in Medical Technology.

She began working at Maine Medical in Portland before moving to Westfield, New Jersey and took a job at Muhlenberg Medical Center in Plainfield.  On a trip to Maryland, she met her eventual husband, Charles. They married on October 10, 1964 and settled in Beltsville, MD.

Paula began work at NIH in Bethesda where she remained until the birth of her daughter in 1966.  The family then moved to Bowie, MD where she began a 30+ year career as a medical technologist – working primarily for local doctors Batsleer and Schultz. 

Paula was predeceased by her parents and her brother Roger G. Lessard and is survived by her husband Charles of Bowie, MD; daughter Denise Wise and husband James Wise of Edgewater, MD; son Christopher George and wife Debra George of Odenton, MD; grandchildren Jamie Wise, Jessica Wise, Logan Wise, Kelly George, Colin George, and Charlie George; brother Leo P. Lessard Jr. and wife Judy Lessard of Massachusetts; sister-in-law Lucille Lessard of Biddeford, Maine; and several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to:

- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

https://www.stjude.org/promotion/impact-giving-pm.html

- American Heart Association

https://www.heart.org/en/get-involved/ways-to-give