LESTER EUGENE BATCHELLER

Lester Eugene Batcheller , of Buckeye, AZ, died August 30, 2016 in Edmonds,WA following a lengthy battle with cancer. Lester was born May 15, 1928 in Webster City, IA to Guy William and Georgia Mae (Worthan) Batcheller.

Lester was a WW II veteran and served in the Navy for twenty years active and ten years Fleet Reserve retiring in 1975 as an Aviation Structural Mechanic Senior Chief, E-8. He served aboard aircraft carriers Princeton, Oriskany and Coral Sea. Medals awarded include: Asiatic/Pacific – National Defense – Korean Service – World War II Victory – Occupation World War II Japan – Good Conduct (5 awards). Lester was a dedicated patriot and served his country with great pride. After his retirement from the Navy he became the Operations Manager for Whidbey Island Phone Company. They moved to Webster City, Iowa and managed a Sears Store. They came back to the Pacific Northwest and lived in Seattle, WA. He worked as a Security Officer for Seattle First Bank. He then became their Maintenance Officer for all branches in Western Washington. The Bank was sold to Bank of America and Les retired at that time.

Lester will best be remembered for his illustrious Naval career and his dedication to his family and family values. If you were family you could always count on him to help and encourage you in any way you needed. His strong family ties led him to spend years doing genealogical research of the Batcheller name and he traced the family back to the Mayflower documenting his findings in many volumes that included factual and anecdotal information. This legacy will be invaluable for generations to come.

In 1949 Lester married Betty Jean Dueman of Seattle, WA and they raised two daughters while living on many military bases in Washington, California, Hawaii, Florida and Tennessee. They retired and moved to Bellingham, WA in 1991. Lester’s wife of 45 years Betty, died in 1994.

In 1995 he married Daisy Armento Divorced 1995.

In 1997 he married Nancy Baldwin Divorced 2000.

In 2003 Lester married Sally Lucien in Bellingham,WA and moved to Buckeye, AZ. in 2007. Sally died in 2012.

He was also preceded in death by his parents, sisters Alberta and Bertha, brothers Kenneth, Glenn, Leland and Vernon. He is survived by his daughters Diana (Howard) McDowell of Bellingham, WA and Georgia (Robert) Berger of Edmonds, WA, three grandchildren Mesha Batcheller(Kevin Heimbigner) , Ashley Berger Bruinsma (Cody) and Robert Kirchner, two great-grandchildren Kieley and Keira Curow, brother Merlyn Batcheller, sister-in-law Anna Lou Batcheller and many nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life Memorial service was held October 1, 2016 in Edmonds, WA. Burial in Bellingham, WA with military rites will be held at a later time.