Lester Duane Ballew, Sr., passed away peacefully at his home, with members of his family and his dog nearby, on June 12, 2018. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa, to Roy A. Ballew and Mary Ann Ballew, on November 18, 1923.

Lester moved to California in 1943 and worked in the ship yards at Mare Island, then to Pearl Harbor repairing ships damaged during WWII. After the war he joined his parents in Stonyford, CA, where he met and fell in love with Evelyn Sutliff. They soon married and began what would be an adventure of 64 years together.

After the war, Lester worked as a welder, first repairing farm equipment. He then opened his own shop, welding on rigs drilling for natural gas in the Sacramento Valley, installing pipe lines that connected those wells to PG&E and on rigs drilling for Steam in Lake County.

After his wife's passing in 2011 he lived in Wheatland, near his daughters, where he enjoyed his garden, dogs and singing karaoke at the Moose Lodge in Yuba City and at the Red Hill Saloon in Wheatland.

He was an active member of Masonic Lodges in Willows, Middletown, and Wheatland and a member of the Moose Lodge in Linda. He was a supporter of the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association and the Gibson Museum and Cultural Center in Lake County. He developed a deep love of Native American Culture, and taught himself to make arrowheads from obsidian.

He is survived by his sons: Loren (Connie), Lester Jr. (Angie), and Leon; daughters: Leslie Stineman and Evie (Vince) Paul; his many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Lester is preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Evelyn Sutliff Ballew; and his three brothers: Lawrence, Richard, and Dale Ballew.

A celebration of his life will be held at the Masonic Lodge, 400 4th Street, Wheatland, 3:00 P.M., on Friday, June 29, 2018.
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