Lesly Benjamin Choute

Lesly B. Choute was born in Petion-Ville, Haiti on January 01, 1949 to Clelie Rose Zephir Choute and Benjamin Joseph Felix Choute. (His parents preceded him in death) As a student, he was very ambitious and had passion for music and assorted styles of dancing. He attended Lycée Francois Duvalier during his school years in Haiti.
In 1970, Lesly immigrated to the United States to Michigan. During this same year, his son Kesly Choute was born.


Upon arrival, Lesly pursued his career in business and entrepreneurship. He obtained employment with Delphi automotive GM (General Motors) as a quality inspector. In 1972, Lesly took business administration courses at Highland Park College. In 1975, he attended University of Detroit. Lesly continued to receive a surplus of certifications and diplomas in Computer Science from numerous accredited institutions. In 1989, he married Claudette Exume. From that union, his daughter Clelie Choute was born. By early 1990, Lesly received his MBA from Lewis College of Business.

Lesly was baptized in 1992 by the New Apostolic Church. He became a UAW Supervisor where he advanced due to his leadership qualities. Lesly was also very involved in the entertainment and music industry for the Latin community . He established an entertainment company called Lesly Salsa Productions which brought premier Caribbean and Latin American performers bands to the Southwest Detroit venues. The company also promoted several dance style groups specializing in Salsa, Merengue, Tango and even Calypso dance groups. Lesly worked closely with entertainers from Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and New York. He forged relationships with brewing companies,caterers, venues and produced events locally. He even submitted grant and funding proposals for his Latin American Dance project.




In addition to making his mark in the entertainment industry, in the 1980s, Lesly, along with a host of other individuals , incorporated a non profit organization called the Haitian Association of Michigan whose primary goal was to assist in Haitian relief efforts and help refugees. Even during 30 years of service with Delphi automotive service, he had environmental safety concerns for his fellow auto workers. He was also concerned about efficiency compliance. He reached out to Congress in the early 1990s to express his concerns about proposes changes to the required Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for new cars. The late United States Senator, Carl Levin, would correspond with Lesly to provide congressional updates in this matter.

In late 1990s, Lesly made the decision to officially retire from General Motors. As a black developer, he made strides to bring further infrastructure in his home country, Haiti. Said efforts included bringing electricity/power under a uniform grid throughout the island. Further, with other business partners, he worked directly with a company called Haitel, which was lined up to bring premier cellular communication technology to Haiti. These were billion dollar projects that would bring thousands of jobs and opportunity. These business pursuits were being done in the 1990s when cell phones were not as common as they are today. Yet Lesly and his fellow colleagues envisioned and worked tirelessly to bring Haiti back onto the stage as world front level nation.

Lesly also had his share of philanthropy. In the early 2000's, he opened up his home to a Haitian Seventh Day adventist church in need of a place to worship. During this time while splitting his time in Haiti and Detroit, Lesly also helped open and successfully operate a nightclub in Haiti which provided a lot of opportunity for those in need of training and experience in the service and restaurant business. Duuring the 2010 deadly earthquake in Haiti, Lesly converted his nightclub into a shelter.

There were so many more accomplishments and involvements that haven't been said about Lesly. He was a devoted man who loved his family, his work, and community. Lesly was the person you would go to whether you needed a good laugh, a business referral or just a friend. He wore many hats and the ones he wore proudly most of all was being a son, brother, husband, father and grandfather.

On the 28th of August, whilst surrounded by family, after a long battle with multiple health issues and illnesses, Lesly was called home to be an ancestor. He leaves behind the legacy of his children and grandchildren. He is survived by his son, Kesly Benjamin Choute, his daughter, Clelie Faith Choute. His three grandchildren; Keslyna Benjamin Choute, Cayden Felix Rodriguez and Catiana Grace Rodriguez. His sisters Solange McPhail, Gladys Benjamin and Nicole Joseph (Pierrot), His nieces; Danielle, Lisa, Christina ( Mark), Cassandre, Nirva, grand-nieces Madison, Harper, Ryann, and Jaydah. Nephews; Lentz, Pierrot Jr., cousins and a host of many other loved ones, relatives and friends that were considered family. We all shall miss him and eternally.