Lester Lee Dwyer

Lester Dwyer HERRIN - Lester Lee Dwyer, 90, passed away at 1:40 a.m. Wednesday, July 7, 2009, in Shawnee Christian Nursing Home. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 11, 2009, in Van Natta Funeral Home, with the Rev. Ed Hoke officiating. Masonic services will be at 7 p.m. Friday, July 10, 2009, by Prairie Lodge 693 of Herrin in the funeral home. Interment will be in East Lawn Memorial Gardens with military rites conducted by Herrin VFW and American Legion posts. Visitation will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 10, 2009, at the funeral home. Lee was born April 19, 1919, in Herrin, to Lester Leo and Ruth (Welker) Dwyer. He married Ruby Jewell Padget. She preceded him in death in 1958. Lee then married Lomelda Peterson Branch on Aug. 15, 1959. Lee served in the U.S. Army during World War II for two years in Europe. He was a member of First United Methodist Church in Herrin, the Masonic lodge, AF and AM 693 in Herrin where he served as Master in 1972, Order of the Eastern Star serving as Worthy Patron in 1968 and a member of American Legion in Herrin. He delivered Meals on Wheels for several years and was a volunteer at Herrin Hospital for 15 years. Lee is survived and will be greatly missed by his wife, Lomelda; sons, Richard Dwyer of Lexington, Bill Dwyer (Sheila) of Herrin and George Branch (Helen) of Justin, Texas; daughters, Martha Jane Turner (Fred) of San Antonio, Carlene Wilson (Tom) of Carterville and Pamela Sims (Andy) of De Soto, Texas; 12 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lester Leo and Ruth Dwyer; his first wife, Ruby J. Padgett Dwyer; brother, Louis Dwayne Dwyer; sisters, Georgene Higgins and Ruth Ann Watson; brothers-in-law, Charles Watson, Louis Peterson and James Winning; sisters-in-law Maurice Stanton and Ida Belle Winning; and grandson, Scott D. Cleaver. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of Southern Illinois or First United Methodist Church. Heartfelt thanks to all the employees of Shawnee Christian Nursing Home in Herrin for their devoted assistance. A very good man has gone.