Michael S. Lester

Michael Lester, 72, of Parkesburg, PA, passed away on Sunday, January 5, 2020 at the Penn Medicine Hospice Center in West Chester, PA. He was the beloved husband of Edwina Tavani Lester with whom he shared 30 years of marriage.

Michael was born in London, England, the son of the late Harry Lester and Ada Lifcofsky Lester. He grew up and spent most of his life in the UK where he practised as a Chartered Accountant and ran many businesses. While here in Parkesburg for the last 15 years, he was owner and operator of Elms Business and Tax Service of Parkesburg, PA. 

To those who loved Michael most, he will be remembered as a man replete with contradiction. Beneath his warm, funny, generous and loving teddy bear exterior lay one of the most wonderfully opinionated, cantankerous and relentlessly uncompromising personalities anyone will have the joy to encounter.   Such contradiction is only really understood when you realize that Michael, at his core, had an unquenchable passion for his wife, his family, his friends, and for integrity and fairness.   These passions made him fiercely over-protective to the point of illogicality; but we loved him for it.  And for his friends and clients, it meant he could achieve another contradiction: he could make doing taxes fun! He will be deeply missed by them all.

Michael is survived, in addition to his wife, by four children; Adam Lester and wife Patsy, Mark Lester and wife Jacqueline, Karen Ciaranca, Deane Dougherty, and seven wonderful grandchildren: Brian, Sarah, Annina, Lucas, Cecily, Anya and Alexander, and one great grandson Nicholas.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Wednesday evening January 8, 2020 at 7:00 PM at the Wilde Funeral Home, 434 Main St. Parkesburg, PA. Family and friends are also invited to attend the visitation from 6:00 - 7:00 PM at the funeral home. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions in memory of Michael are made to the Clyde F Barker Penn Transplant House, as thanks to an organisation that gave us many more years with this most beautiful man.

Please make checks payable to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, including “Transplant House” on the memo line or an enclosed note, and send to Penn Medicine Development c/o Abby Addy, 3535 Market St. Suite 750, Philadelphia, PA, 19104. Donations can also be made by calling 215-573-9799 or via the link below.      

https://giving.aws.cloud.upenn.edu/fund?program=MC&fund=602673