Willow Glen Resident

Community

Ray Lester had a passion for agriculture and storytelling

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

Willow Glen resident Ray Lester loved the simple things in life. He was happiest at his ranch in San Jose and spending time with his family.

On Aug. 25, Lester, 87, died, with his family by his side.

"His routine up to a few days before he died was to get up early, up with the chickens at 4:30 a.m., fix breakfast for my mom, and head out to the ranch," says Lester's son Fred. "Dad was happiest in the midst of agriculture."

The Lester family's story dates back to 1883, when Ray Lester's grandfather Nathan purchased his first prune orchard in Willow Glen at the corner of Lincoln and Curtner Avenues. Lester was born and raised in the midst of the valley's fruit boom on the family's "Home Ranch" at Almaden Road and Koch Lane.

He attended Los Gatos High School and then went on to San Jose State College, where he earned his degree in business.

"He was very proud of his family heritage in this area," his son says. "He was a farmer at heart and a real genuine guy."

Lester's love of agriculture and history along with his storytelling and friendliness were infectious.

"I go shopping for my mom now," Fred Lester says, "and the people at PW all remember him. They tell me that he always had a good story to tell and that he paid personal attention to people's lives. He befriended everyone he met."

Ray Lester did remember everything, from the classmates in his third-grade class to the numbers his football teammates wore at San Jose State College during his years as a player from 1937 to '39.

"He had a phenomenal memory, even at 87," Fred Lester says.

Growing up, Fred Lester's favorite pastime was asking his father about the past.

"We would be in the truck, and I'd ask him to tell me a story," he says. "He had the best stories about Willow Glen and life in the '30s and '40s."

Ray Lester lived in Willow Glen until the Great Depression began taking a toll on agriculture, and war broke out between England and Germany. He moved to Burbank and joined the Lockheed Aircraft Co., where he oversaw the manufacturing of the B-17 Flying Fortress.

He met his future wife, Grace, while employed in Southern California. She had grown up in Iowa but came to Los Angeles to visit her sister and look for a job.

"I was living in one place and wanted to make a change," says Grace Lester, who was married to her husband for 61 years.

She toured a local boarding house in Glendale and was coming down the stairs with the landlady as her future husband was walking up.

"I guess I liked him right away," she says. "He was a tall, good looking young man with a good personality."

The year was 1944 and the United States was in World War II. The courtship lasted three months before Lester enlisted in the U.S. Navy.

"He was gone for awhile," Grace Lester says, "but when he returned in 1946, we moved back to his hometown and got married."

A year after they returned, Lester formed Lester Brothers with his brother, Lee, and the family became one of the Valley's largest orchardists and fruit processors, his wife says.

He was involved in several organizations, including the Sunsweet Growers Association, the Sun/Diamond Growers Association, the California Prune Advisory Board and the Almaden Rotary Club.

"His biggest dream was to become a good farmer," Grace Lester says. "That was his life. He enjoyed his farm, and it was the only place he wanted to be."

Ray Lester is survived by his wife, Grace; two children, Fred Lester and Jean Denning; and granddaughters Sarah McCaughey, Ashley and Courtney Lester.

Memorial events will be held at Oak Hill Funeral Home's Chapel of the Oaks, 300 Curtner Ave. on Sept. 22, 11 a.m.