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Sean Trevor Avery of Lexington, MA, passed away peacefully at his home on September 5, 2022. He was diagnosed with glioblastoma in April 2021. Sean was the beloved husband of Lauren M. Avery (Sitzer) and father of Drake S. Avery (11) and Fiona S. Avery (9), all of Lexington, MA; b rother of Raymond Avery Jr. and his wife Linda of Hampden, MA; Rayann Vander Zanden and her husband Richard of Stuart, FL; Matthew Avery and his wife Leslie of Statesville, NC; Mark Avery of Nantucket, MA; and Cindy Clogston of Millinocket, ME . He is also survived by extended family, including many nieces, nephews, and cousins, and close friends. 

Sean was a lifelong music lover and musician. He had a deep love and knowledge of a wide variety of music. He could as easily be found listening to Mozart or light jazz as he could the metal band Nightwish. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, The Doors, and The Beatles as well as artists including Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley, Nina Simone, Ian Gillan, and Keith Relf were some of his favorites. Sean kicked off his long musical journey in elementary school as a saxophone player. He learned to play the guitar in high school and subsequently started his first band with his close friend Steve Toutant. In the 1990s, he played the guitar and wrote many of the songs for his Amherst, MA, band “Floater Clown” with his good friend Matthew Dean. A prolific song and poetry writer inspired by Pablo Neruda, Emily Dickinson, and Arthur Rimbaud, Sean explained that he would start writing first and then later determine whether the piece was a poem or a song. Over the years, Sean amassed a large collection of musical instruments, including guitars, a banjo, a trumpet, a saxophone, a mandolin, a drum set, and his prized Gibson SG and blue-gray Epiphone guitars.

Sean loved being a father. His children have been the central focus of his life for the past 11 years. He was a thoughtful, caring, and creative parent, and truly had fun with his children. From the voices he used to make books come alive, to many backyard camping adventures, to sharing his favorite local haunts on Nantucket, to hours in a pool no matter how cold the temperature, Sean always delighted in being an active part of Drake and Fiona’s lives. Sean always endeavored to make the most of his time with his family through regular family game and movie nights, local and international travel, and seasonal traditions. Even after his cancer diagnosis, he built a fire pit so that the family could roast marshmallows and spend time with their friends.

Sean was highly active in the communities in which he lived. Starting at a young age, he was a co-leader of his nephew Jason’s Cub Scout troop with his sister Rayann. Sean later lent his technical expertise as a software engineer to his children’s two preschools, the John Winthrop School for Young Children and the Community Nursery School, as the Technology Chairperson on their respective boards of directors . He also served as the webmaster for the Lexington United Soccer Club for several years. Sean enjoyed playing on various teams and made many good friends through his involvement in bowling and softball leagues. He passed along his knowledge as a coach to his children’s baseball and softball teams and imparted his ethos of hard work and cooperation. 

Sean had many strong interests. He greatly enjoyed building, designing, and creating. Sean was a graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Commonwealth Honors College with a B.S. in Computer Science. He enjoyed his career as a Software Engineer where he built using code and especially enjoyed working as part of a team. He was passionate about games as a young person and rekindled this passion later in life. Much like his broad interest in music, his passion for games spanned Dungeons & Dragons, Magic The Gathering, board games, dice games, and everything in-between. His ability to bring both adults and children together to spin amazing stories was enviable. Sean loved history and read widely, especially about World War I. He loved Lexington’s history and especially the local Revolutionary War reenactments. Sean was skilled at cooking, woodworking, and model building, additional long time interests. Sean’s sense of humor, grounded nature, and compassion will be missed. 

Visiting hours are at the Douglass Funeral Home, 51 Worthen Rd. Lexington, on Thursday, September 15 from 4pm to 7pm. Private interment will occur at Westview  Cemetery, Lexington. Donations in memory of Sean Trevor Avery can be made to support neurological cancer research and patient care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284, or via www.dana-farber.org/gift or to the Lexington Nature Trust, C/O Conservation Division, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue Lexington, MA, 02420. 

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