BRADFORD — Harold “Leo” Hester of Bradford, Maine, formerly of Colby Siding, ME, went home to be with our Lord and Savior on July 31, 2016. He passed peacefully at home surrounded by his family. He was born April 21, 1935, in Greenville, Alabama, the son of Houston Hester and Opal Troutman Hester.
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| Harold “Leo” Hester |
Leo grew up in Alabama and joined the U.S. Air Force that took him to Loring AFB where he met his wife Geneva Walton Hester, with whom he lived for 48 years, raising their children. He served in the U.S. Air Force for 21 years, retiring at Loring AFB where the family finally settled in Colby Siding, ME. He retired from the Civil Service at Loring after another 22 year career.
After his second retirement, Leo and Geneva built a home in Duncan, SC with the help of their daughter Linda and son-in-law Michael St. Peter. After Geneva passed in 2004, he loved to travel the country in his pickup with his “Redneck Motel” (pop-up camper) in tow. He drove to each of his children’s homes with his little Jack Russell Terrier named Cujo, sharing many miles behind the wheel.
Leo was a Lifetime member of the NRA, Word of Life Club supporter, as well as St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, The Wounded Warrior Project, and his favorite charity, The Rock Pentecostal Mission in Chennai, India. He loved to fish and fly tying, was a Pyrotechnic Specialist and an avid story-teller.
He was a loving father and husband who enjoyed sharing his life stories with his descendants. He was a follower of Jesus who loved to share his faith in song. He is survived by all six children, Rick Hester and his wife Dawn of Lewiston, ME; Linda St. Peter and her husband Mike of Spartanburg, SC; Jim Hester of Veazie, ME; Mark Hester and his wife Heather of Bradford, ME, Kimberlee Chevreux and her husband Eric of Simi Valley, CA, and Marty Hester and his wife Coleen of Simi Valley, CA; as well as 15 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, one brother James Gomillion of Duncan, SC and one sister Carolyn Gomillion Sanders of Montgomery, AL, and numerous other relatives. He was predeceased by his wife Geneva Walton Hester, his sister Anita Hester Torres and two brothers, Donald Hester and Abbott Hester.
At Leo’s request, there will be no funeral as his family gathered with him to enjoy his last few days. A committal service will be scheduled at a later date at the Maine Veterans’ Cemetery in Caribou, ME.
Leo requested in lieu of flowers that any memorials be given to the Wounded Warriors Project or to The Rock Pentecostal Mission in Chennai, India ℅ his son Mark Hester of 17 S. Smith Rd., Bradford, ME 04410. Condolences to the family may be expressed at www.memorial-alternatives.com.
