He was the father of John Lesinski Jr., who succeeded him in the United States House of Representatives.

Lesinski was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on January 3, 1885, and his parents moved their family to Detroit, Michigan three months later.

[1] He was president of the Polish Citizens' Committee of Detroit from 1919 to 1932,[1] and was credited with recruiting thousands of Polish-Americans and Polish-Canadians to join the military and fight against the Axis during World War I.

[2] In addition, he was state commissioner in charge of the sale of bonds which raised funds for rebuilding Poland when the country was re-formed following World War I,[1] for which he was awarded the Polonia Restituta by the Polish Government.

[2] Lesinski was the father of nine children, seven of whom survived to adulthood—Joan, John, Maxine, Delphine, Raymond, Beverly, and Edwin.