Emilie Lehr Pirrone

In loving memory of Emilie Lehr Pirrone, of Marstons Mills, Massachusetts, beloved wife of Ray Pirrone and beloved mother of Joel Pirrone, who passed away at Cape Cod Hospital on May 26, 2026.

 

Emilie was born on Christmas Day in 1940 in Oakes, North Dakota, to Leo and Viola Lehr, who predeceased her. From the beginning, her life carried that distinctive note, and throughout her years she remained a woman of individuality, strength, creativity, and grace. The Lehr family made Sheridan, Wyoming, their home for a substantial part of their lives, and Sheridan remained a prominent place in Emilie’s story. She was raised there and attended Sheridan Junior College, where she was a cheerleader. She later earned a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics from North Dakota State University and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

 

Emilie’s education reflected many of the gifts she would share throughout her life. She understood food and home, presentation, hospitality, and beauty not as small things, but as meaningful ways of caring for people and creating a life. She had an eye for detail, a practical intelligence, and a sense of style that made its way into her work, her homes, and the memories she created with her family.

 

After college, Emilie began her career in the Cleveland, Ohio, area as a product and cooking demonstrator for a local utility company. She later worked in public relations for a nonprofit organization. It was in Cleveland that she met Ray Pirrone, who became the love of her life. Emilie and Ray were married in Sheridan in 1969, beginning a devoted partnership that would carry them through many places, seasons, and a rich family life.

 

Their married life began in Cleveland. With their son, Joel, Emilie and Ray later made homes in Columbus, Ohio; Yorkshire, England; St. Joseph, Michigan; Summit, New Jersey; and finally Cape Cod, where they settled in 2002. Each place became part of the family’s journey. In every home, Emilie brought her own sense of taste, independence, and care. On Cape Cod, she designed their home in Marstons Mills, creating a place that reflected who she was: thoughtful, capable, personal, and beautifully her own.

 

Em, as she was often called, continued to develop her professional and creative skills throughout her life. She later worked in food styling for product advertising photography, work that required patience, artistry, precision, and imagination. She also managed the bridal registry at the Short Hills Neiman Marcus store, a role that drew on her polished retail skills and her understanding of how meaningful it is to help people prepare for important moments in their lives.

 

After moving to Cape Cod, Emilie gave her time as a volunteer at Cape Abilities, Inc.’s thrift store, where she used her retail experience in service of the community. She and Ray became parishioners of Our Lady of the Assumption in Osterville, a meaningful part of their life on the Cape.

 

Emilie will be remembered as a delightfully independent lady. She was unmistakably herself. She loved her family deeply and built a life filled with movement, work, home, beauty, and care. Her presence will remain in the family stories told around tables, in the homes she shaped, and in the lives of those who were lucky enough to love her.

 

She was predeceased by her parents, Leo and Viola Lehr, and her older brother, Leon.

 

Emilie is survived by her husband, Ray; her son, Joel, of Washington, D.C.; her sister, Jermaine Lehr Wing, and her husband, George, of Hyannis; her brother, Phillip Lehr, and his wife, Vickie, of Tucson, Arizona; her niece, Amanda Wing Hingston, and her husband, Greg, of Cape Cod, and their children, Haley, Piper, and Paige; her nephew, Donovan Wing, and his wife, Caroline Fox Wing, of Cape Cod, and his children, Katherine, Ronan, and Naomhan, whom he shares with Kate O’Donnell, also of Cape Cod, and Indigo, whom he shares with Caroline; her niece, Lynne Lehr Buck, of Denver; her godson and nephew, Greg Lehr, of Coronado, California; her niece, Lorie Lehr Leopold, of Denver; her nephew, Lance Lehr, of Erie, Pennsylvania; and her niece, Anne Lehr, of Las Vegas.

 

In addition, Emilie is survived by many dear cousins in Ray’s extended family, in Cleveland and beyond, especially the families of Anne Mullen Black, Zita Tumney Goldberg, Tricia Mullen Heredos, Anne McEvoy, Dr. Laura McEvoy Marton, Hugh Mullen, John Mullen, Margaret Mullen, Mary O’Malley Shuki, James O’Malley, Bill Tumney, and Joe Tumney.

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A funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of the Assumption in Osterville on Friday, June 19, 2026, at 11 A.M. Interment will be held privately. Chapman Funerals & Cremations will be handling the funeral Mass and other arrangements.

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A Cleveland celebration of life will be held at future date.  We had to change the previously posted  date and location.