Dr. John R. Lester 1951-2021

LESTER, WAUGEN, CHRISTENSEN

Posted By: Barry R Huntsinger (email)
Date: 11/27/2021 at 10:25:25

Dr. John R Lester was born in Estherville, IA to Dr. Russell and Helen Waugen Lester on November 21, 1951. He graduated from Estherville School District in 1970. He began his college education at Luther College and then transferred to Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD, graduating with a BS in Biology in 1974. He graduated from U of Iowa College of Dentistry in 1979. While at Augustana he met Karla Christensen and they were married in 1976.

After graduating from dental school John and Karla moved to Estherville to join his father in the Lester Dental practice. John and Russell were later joined by his brother David. He was a well-respected dentist in Estherville and the Emmet County communities.

John and Karla were blessed with two children Emily and Derick.

Most people remember John as “Captain Weekend.” He was the guy that lived for the weekend and vacations. He relished hosting parties, going hunting and boating. John was a tinkerer, perfectionist, and had a very green thumb. He could grow any plant and loved to collect exotic species for his greenhouse. While most people plant a small kitchen garden, John filled an acre. If he was going to plant pumpkins, he’d plant the Atlantic Giant Pumpkin and require assistance in moving them come harvest. Everything John did, he tended to do “big.” If you’re going to have a marine aquarium, you might as well have a 300-gallon aquarium. If you are going to build a fire in the fireplace, you will make it so hot everyone either strips down or flees the room.
If the weekend was spent at home, John would crank the music, rocking out to ACDC and Poison. He would take on grand projects and then sprinkle colorful language for everyone in earshot to acknowledge things were not going as planned.

As a father, he showed his love by making desires come true. He built treehouses, manifested ice-skating rinks, and bought horses and drum sets. Friday night was steak night, even if it meant waiting to eat until 10 p.m. Summers were for boating, and winters were for skiing and traveling. John loved to travel, he tried to experience with his family as much as the world had to offer, seeking out natural wonders, foreign countries, and anything near the ocean. John would always be fair game for local fair while traveling and once broke out in sweat and tears after popping an entire ball of wasabi into his mouth.

He planned life around scuba diving trips, diving the Great Barrier Reef, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico. He dove with sharks, rays, and walls and always dreamed of moving seaside. He cherished his weeks of summer vacation at the family cabin at Leech Lake in Minnesota.

Unfortunately, John’s partying started to slip too far. He developed a dependence on alcohol that slowly took away all the fun and brought on a dark cloud. While he tried to battle his addiction, he was never fully successful and eventually stopped trying all together.

He is survived by his wife of 45 years Karla, his mother Helen Lester, daughter Emily (Andy) Inman Colorado Springs CO, son Derick (Aleta Storch -Lester) Bellingham, WA, brother Dave ( Cindy) Lester Spirit Lake, IA . Brother-in-law Marty (Janet) Christensen, sister-in-law Susan (Tom) Jamar, and many loving nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. He is preceded in death his father Russell Lester and his father and mother-in-law (Jay and Donna Christensen)

There was a Celebration of Life on Tuesday, November 23, 2021 at the Estherville Golf course clubhouse. A private family service was also held.

(Source: Henry-Olson Funeral Home, Estherville, Iowa.)