Lester M. Entringer

ENTRINGER

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 10/19/2020 at 15:43:48

Lester M. Entringer, 91, of Dubuque, IA passed away on October 18, 2020 at MercyOne Medical Center.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, October 21, 2020 at St. Joseph The Worker Catholic Church with Rev. Jim Goerend officiating. Burial will follow in Mount Olivet Cemetery where military honors will be accorded. Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory, 2595 Rockdale Road is assisting the family. A live stream of the funeral service will be on the funeral home Facebook page.

Lester was born in LaMotte, IA, and grew up on a farm where he learned the value of hard work and his love of family. After graduation from Holy Rosary High School, he attended Loras Academy on a scholarship before attending radio school in Omaha, NE.
He was drafted in the Army and served state-side during the Korean War, where he developed close friendships and was a radio instructor.

After being honorably discharged, he worked briefly at a radio station in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, before returning to Dubuque to work at KDTH. He soon was hired as a technician at the Gerrold Cable company in Dubuque. He moved his way up to become the head technician and worked for 45 years with the many cable companies over the years including, Gerrold, Teleprompter, TCI, and Group W Cable.

He enjoyed and took pride in his work and loved seeing the changes in technology over the years, from vacuum tubes to satellite dishes to fiber optics. While his job was his vocation, nothing meant more to him than his family. He met Jean Christ at the bus stop on Clarke Drive in Dubuque, and he gave her a ride to her job at Moulds Studio downtown where he worked at the cable company. Lester and Jean married on a beautiful day on September 5 in 1960.

He was a faithful devout Catholic which lead him and his wife, Jean, to purchase their home close to St Joseph the Worker Church and the then St Joseph’s School, where they were parishioners all their lives. Having five children, family was their joy and inspiration. The went on many family vacations and did other activities together which helped the family grow in love and devotion to each other.

Lester was an avid ham radio operator and had his radio set-up in the basement where he would go “downstairs to go on his net” almost every night. He loved crossword puzzles from the daily paper and any other puzzles he could get his hands on right up into his 90s. He also loved aviation and flew planes in his college years, including his favorite plane, the Piper Cub.

Lester’s love of family also includes his grandson, Ben and his wife, Ashley and his great grandchildren. Ben has followed in Lester’s footsteps as a head technician at Mediacom.
Les loved getting together for family dinners and would make his famous pie and bread that we all loved. Up until the end, a main concern was to make sure his family was safe and successful in their lives.

In his final days on earth, he was surrounded by his children as we talked, laughed, and reminisced together, which was his greatest joy in life. Dad will be with us in our memories and through the many stories we will continue to tell at all our family gatherings. He will always be remembered for his dry sense of humor, funny stories, witty intelligence, Catholic faith and most importantly, his love of family.

Lester is survived by his children Julie (Fred) White, Laurie Entringer (Chicago), Steve Entringer (Denver), Chris Entringer (Peosta), and a grandson Ben (Ashley) O’Malley. Sisters Ruth (Ed) Gansemer, Rita Entringer, and Venita Mclaughlin

He was preceded in death by is parents, his wife Jean (Christ), his oldest son Tony Entringer, and a brother Leonard Entringer.

The family thanks Hawkeye Care who showed compassion and kindness where he lived his last few months, and our brother in law, Fred White who encouraged dad to never give up. The family would also like to thank the staff at Mercy ER, ICU and Mercy Comfort Care for their dedicated service where we were able stay at his side until dad passed peacefully.

In lieu of flowers, a Lester Entringer memorial fund has been established.