Lester C. Dickens

On January 1, 2019, Lester Clarence Dickens, Jr. , 75, left the confines of this world to go Home to his Lord. He was a long time resident of the Las Vegas Valley, having lived in Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. His 11 year battle with Parkinson’s Disease left little for his body to fight off the Cancer that ultimately took his life.

Lester was born April 16, 1943, in St. Augustine, FL. to Lester C. and Ione (Swanson) Dickens. He spent his early childhood in his parents hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He actually lived in a log cabin during those years and it was a fond memory of his. At the age of 8, he moved with his parents and brother to Henderson, NV. He attended Henderson schools until his graduation in 1961 from Basic High School.

At Basic High, he distinguished himself both academically and athletically. He served as Freshman Class President and continued to be active in student government during the rest of his high school career. He lettered in football and track. He was President of the Letterman’s Club. He was co-captain of the football team that won the State Championship his Senior year. He was recognized as a member of the 1961 National High School All American Football Team.

He began his college career at University of Nevada Reno but finished at University of Nevada Las Vegas in 1967 when he earned his Bachelor of Science Degree In Business Administration.

He worked 11 1/2 years for Reynolds Tobacco Company before moving to sales for medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. One of Darcy’s favorite memories as a child was going with her Dad when he was working his district for Reynolds Tobacco. She would go with him to service the rural areas. She helped him fill the cigarette machines and hand out promotional products. Sometimes she had a soda while he worked or talked with clients. It was a very special time for her. She was only about 6 or 7 at the time.

He ultimately joined the Clark County School District where he retired in 2011 after 20 years of service. At the time of his retirement, he was Facilities & Equipment Safety Inspection Manager in the Safety & Environmental Services Department.

He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Dusty (Dorothy), two daughters, Darcy Dickens, Dawn (Michael) Perkins, both of Las Vegas, a son, Darren Dickens of Seattle,Wa., and stepdaughter, Kelli (Mike) Pash of North Las Vegas. He is also survived by two brothers; Marc (Sandi) of Henderson,NV and Bryan (Pam) of Warner Robbins, GA, and a sister, Deanne (Stan) Thompson of North Menomonie, WI.

Family was the center of his life and he was blessed with seven grandchildren and one great grandson. Grandchildren were born in “groups”. First, Cheyenne, then a week later came Ryan. Two years later on the day after Christmas Shayla was born, followed by Cassandra and Mackenzie on February 3. Dalton came along two years later. Colton, however, didn’t show up till 10 years after Dalton. He spent many hours enjoying his grandchildren and his niece, Valerie (Dickens) Stiles and nephew, Travis Dickens. Christmas at the Dickens house was a sight to behold. He attended soccer games to watch Cheyenne and Mackenzie play, softball games to watch Shayla play; Volleyball games to watch Cassandra play, and watched Dalton play Saxophone at the Academy for Performing Arts. He even got to play golf with his youngest grandson, Colton. When Colton was little he stayed at Grandpa and Grandma's house while his mom was at work. When Les would get home from work he would let Colton pick one marble from the huge jar of marbles he kept. Colton still has those marbles.

In 2014, Cheyenne blessed him with his first great grandchild, a little boy named A. J. (Alex John) Smith.

Les loved little children and they always loved Les. Wherever we would go he would spot a small child at the next table or standing in line and make faces at them till they would laugh and giggle.

Lester had many interests including, golf, tennis, soccer and bowling. In fact, bowling was where Les and Dusty met. She fell down on the bowling lanes one night during the church bowling league for Community Lutheran . It got everybody’s attention when the buzzer sounded as she crossed the foul line. Les figured that if She could do that and come up laughing he should get to know her better. About a year or so after that they were married. They spent the next 31 years making each other laugh.

He also collected stamps and was a very adept photographer. One of his photographs received a blue ribbon at the Clark County Fair.

He and Dusty enjoyed traveling and were able to visit many countries around the world. However, their favorite places to visit were the states of Alaska, Hawaii and Colorado. His father was stationed in Hawaii at Schofield Barracks during the attack of Pearl Harbor. They were able to take a tour of the barracks and the USS Arizona Memorial during one of their trips to Hawaii. They enjoyed traveling abroad and were able to visit the beaches of Normandy where Les’ Dad had landed with the second wave of soldiers during the D-Day Invasion. Cruising allowed them to “taste” a lot of locations, such as Australia/New Zealand, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe including Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Finland; and the British Isles, Ireland and France. Overall they enjoyed 18 cruises.

But, more than anything, his whole family and all his friends will miss his amazing sense of humor. He was the king of the one-liners. He could always be counted on to come out with some observation or thought that would bring everyone to tears laughing. Family gatherings will never be the same without his commentary!

A Celebration of Lester's life will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, January 21st at Palm Northwest Mortuary, 6701 North Jones Blvd., Las Vegas, Nevada, 89131. A reception will follow from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either the American Cancer Society or the D. L. (Dusty) Dickens Elementary School in North Las Vegas, NV.