Posted by: John_Hamilton on 08/22/2011 11:01 AM
Updated by: John_Hamilton on 08/22/2011 11:01 AM
Expires: 01/01/2016 12:00 AM
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Lester William Wakefield January 21st, 1927 - August 18, 2011
Murphys, CA...Lester William Wakefield passed away at his home in Murphys on August 18, 2011, his 61st wedding anniversary, with his loving family at his side. Bill, as he was known to his many friends and family, lived and worked in Calaveras County for most of his life. He was born in Merced, and attended Murphys Grammar School. He graduated from Salinas High School in December of 1944, and with his father’s permission entered the US Navy where he served the remainder of World War 2 on the USS Tryon, a hospital ship. He returned to his beloved Murphys and worked in the US Forest Service’s Blister Rust camps for 3 or 4 years. He then began his happiest workdays at the Blagen Lumber Company where he worked until the mill closed in 1962. He met the love of his life, Georgia, who was visiting the area, in the summer of 1950, and persuaded her to delay her college career and become his wife. Bill and Georgia raised their three children in Murphys, where they lived for over 58 years...
Bill began working for the Calaveras Asbestos Company in Copperopolis after the Blagen Lumber Mill closed. He worked for the Murphys Sanitary District from 1980 until he retired in 1992.
Bill’s passions were his children, his grandchildren, the outdoors, and the SF Giants. He was delighted to have finally experienced the joy of the Giants World Series championship in 2010. For many years, he was an active member and director of the Murphys Fire Protection District, member and officer of the Murphys Lions Club, was active in Native Sons, and was a director of the Ebbetts Pass Veterans District.
Bill leaves behind his wife, Georgia and their three children, Larry (Mary) Wakefield, Denise (Tom) Tryon, and Amy Dentley. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Georgina and Rachael Wakefield, Lauren (Chris) Russo, Elizabeth (Kaan) Ersun, Kate and Walter Tryon, William Wakefield, Cailin Dentley, and one great grandchild. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Allen and Josephine Wakefield.
As one of the last survivors of the former Blagen Mill employees, Bill’s stories, and stories about Bill, occupy prominent spots on the Sierra Nevada Logging Museum web site, www.sierraloggingmuseum.org. The family requests that in lieu of other remembrances, donations to the Logging Museum at P.O. Box 3619, Arnold, CA 95223, or to the Murphys Fire Department be made in Bill’s name.
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