Erthel "E. C." Lester

E. C. Lester, 101, of Frankfort, went to be with the Lord June 17, 2013. He was born February 20, 1912 at Pleasant Hill in Mercer County to Clarence Lester and Effie Lee Bottom Lester. He grew up in Danville, Perryville, Harrodsburg, Versailles, White Sulphur and Woodlake and attended schools in those areas. In the early 1920�s, he joined the 123rd Cavalry unit of what was then called the Home Guard. They trained on Maryland Ave. in Frankfort. In 1934, he served in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He was married to Florence Irene Downey from Feb. 14, 1936, until she died Sept. 28, 1980. He retired from National Distillers in 1974. E. C. was a member of Evergreen Baptist Church where he sang in the choir, a quartet and was a soloist. He helped rebuild the church after it was destroyed by a tornado in 1974. He belonged to the Hiram Lodge No. 4 and was a 32nd degree Master Mason. He was a member of the Oleika Temple and the Capital City Shrine Club and was named Shriner of the Year in 1997 in recognition of outstanding service and dedication to the club and to the children of the Shriner hospitals. On Aug. 11, 2006, when he was 95, he eloped with his 89 year-old bride, Edith Hammond, of Lawrenceburg, and lived with her until her death January 21, 2009. He loved hunting and fishing and taking care of his yard and his roses. He loved reading until he lost most of his eyesight. He was a skilled woodworker and loved making things. He was active in Senior Citizens and loved to play pool. He also loved to travel. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Marie Logan, step father, Corbett Clark, his wives, a son-in-law, Norman O�Banion, a granddaughter, Carla Michelle Hoover, and a great-great granddaughter, Addie Lynton. He is survived by daughters, Betty Hoover (Carl), Patricia Lippert (Marshall) all of Frankfort; step son, Floyd Aldridge of Lawrenceburg; grand children, Greg Hoover (Nancy) of Louisville; Kimberly Mitchell (Dale), Brennan O�Banion (Kimberly Sanders), all of Frankfort; six great grandchildren and eight great-great grandchildren. Services will be under the direction of Harrod Bros. and conducted by the Rev. Brad Hockensmith. Visitation will be 5-8 p.m. Thursday, June 20, and the funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday, June 21. Bearers are Brennan O�Banion, Greg Hoover, Ryan Mulder, Eric Mulder, Carey Hieatt and Blake Mitchell. Graveside services will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens.

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Erthel "E. C." Lester

February 20, 1912 - June 17, 2013