Timothy Lester Jr., retired govt director of the Larger Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce and former vp of the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper, handed away from Parkinson’s illness on Might 26. He was 82 years outdated.
Providers for the Atlanta native and longtime southern California resident are scheduled for Friday, June 27, at 10 a.m., at Harrison-Ross Mortuary, 4601 So. Crenshaw Blvd., in Los Angeles.
Lester was born on Oct. 23, 1942, in Atlanta, Georgia, the lone son of Timothy Alexander Lester and Helen Perry. He attended town’s Archer Excessive College, the place he performed soccer and was classmates with legendary singers Bubba and Gladys Knight. After graduating in 1960, Lester enlisted in the US Marine Corps and wed high-school sweetheart Mattie Mae Minter, a coupling ensuing of their sons, Eric and Kelvin. Lester additionally fathered Michael Jackson, Sonya Jackson, Edith Smith and Sandra Holt earlier than marrying Beverly Mosely in 1966, a union that will final 43 years. Their marriage welcomed three extra Lester youngsters: Gwen, Sheena, and Darren. In 2010, he married Barbara Biggs, his loving spouse till he died on the early morning of Might 26, 2025.
As a proud Marine, Lester served within the Vietnam Battle, and was later stationed in Iwakuni, Japan with Beverly and their three kids. His time with the Marines additionally led him to Southern California, an space that grew to become the Lesters’ dwelling. He graduated from Barstow Neighborhood School with a BA in Enterprise Administration, then retired from the Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow in 1980, at which level Lester labored at Southern California Motor Supply, Inc. and moved his household to San Bernardino, withstanding the challenges of racism after integrating its north finish.
In 1984, he started working as vp of the Los Angeles Sentinel, together with finest associates Ken Thomas and Willis Collier, when Thomas bought the weekly publication. Whereas serving amongst Sentinel administration, Lester launched his youngest daughter to the world of journalism, and he successfully for 11 years oversaw the manufacturing of L.A.’s most revered Black newspaper.
Nicknamed “Cool-Ass Tim Lester” by his youngsters’ associates, the adventurous-natured lifelong L.A. Lakers fan was a really multifaceted particular person who would tip his toes into any and every little thing life needed to provide. He was bodily lively all through his lengthy life, taking part in defensive again on the soccer discipline in his youth and through his Marine Corps days in Barstow, finally jogging L.A.’s Baldwin Hills each day for many years as an older grownup.
A real lover of music, Lester dabbled in taking part in the bass and loved listening to jazz and dancing to disco and funk. His tastes developed with the instances: He collected vinyl LPs that included John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Stevie Surprise and EW&F opuses. He purchased the Sugarhill Gang’s 1979 “Rapper’s Delight” 12-inch vinyl single the day he heard it on the radio, and, almost 20 years later, wrote an “N.W.A. Best Hits” album overview for Rap Pages journal.
In 1995, Lester started serving as govt director of the Larger Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce, a place from which he’d retire six years later. Whereas helming the GLAAACC, he integrated its GLAAACC Schooling Fund, which continues to supply scholarships to college students in Los Angeles. Earlier than completely retiring in 2014, he co-founded the now-closed Compassion Care Middle.
A superb prepare dinner, Lester beloved to experiment within the kitchen, and his household loved tasting his takes on classics like beef chili, candy potato pie, and Coq au Vin. He had a classy, timeless private model augmented with expansive go well with, shoe, hat and cufflink collections. Recognized for his wit and mind, Lester was an avid reader and gave nice recommendation to anybody who would ask. He based the Motivated Males mentorship program at Dorsey Excessive College in south Los Angeles, glad to be a mentor to numerous teenagers eager to be taught from him and his membership brothers.
Lester was preceded in loss of life by his dad and mom, alongside together with his stepfather, Billy Grimes; his sister and brother-in-law, Peggy Barner and Earl Barner; his step-sisters, Bennie Lee Grimes and Annie Lee Grimes, and his son, Darren Lopez Lester. He leaves to have a good time his legacy and cherish reminiscences his spouse, Barbara Biggs-Lester; father- and mother-in-law Robert and Dorothy Biggs; his sons, Eric Lester, Kelvin Lester and Michael Jackson; his daughters, Sonya Morris-Hart, Edith Smith, Sandra Holt Muhammad, Gwen Lloyd and Sheena Lester; nieces Portia Barner, Kenya Mims and Kateka Anderson; nephews Zack Barner and Geoffrey Matthews; sisters-in-law Gerri Dozier, Lois Anderson, Yolander Biggs and Maricia Moore; brothers-in-law Earl Dozier, Grasp Black Diamond and Christopher Moore; son-in-law Dana Lloyd, a number of doting cousins, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, plus caring associates Lester thought-about kin.
