Travis J. Rester was born in Leadville, Colorado on June 17, 1926. His father, Travis Sr. worked on the railroads out west. Travis and his mother, Helen, travelled with him, living in a train box car, heated by a pot belly stove. The Rester family moved south in 1930 and settled in Chickasaw and eventually Mobile, Alabama. Travis attended Murphy High School and graduated from Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama. He attended Spring Hill College. His first job was as owner/operator of The Mobile Ford Tractor and Equipment Company.
Travis met his wife, Betty Cropp, on a WKRG radio station boat trip to Ft. Morgan. After they were married, he joined his father in the Giddens and Rester theater business in Mobile. Travis and Betty welcomed their daughter Anne in 1961. He was a kind and loving father, always supporting her in attendance at special activities.
Travis always enjoyed being with people and he eventually found himself drawn to the real estate business. He retired from the Prudential / Cooper Real Estate Company in 2012 at the age of 86 after 34 years as an associate.
Travis enjoyed Alabama football, savoring the game on two different TVs and a radio simultaneously. He loved his grandchildren, Emily and Daniel. They called him Poppa and said that he was generous, funny and endlessly supportive. They both knew he cared because he had a litany of questions every time they saw him, always wanting to know the latest news about their lives. Travis was a member of Community of Christ Church in Mobile.
Travis passed away on November 12, 2021. He is preceded in death by his parents Travis and Helen Rester, and his brother Alan G. Rester. He is survived by his wife Betty, daughter Anne Rose (Roger Rose), his sister Shirley Konrad, his grandchildren Emily Rose (Daniel Harmon) and Daniel Rose (Lucija Bergere), and many nieces and nephews.
The funeral service will be held at Pine Crest Funeral Home chapel on Dauphin Island Parkway on Tuesday, November 23rd at 1:30. Visitation begins at 1:00 with a graveside service to follow.
