Leo A. Koester, 87, of Kimball, died at the Kimball County Manor on Saturday, February 15, 2020. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, February 21, 2020 at the Cantrell Funeral Home in Kimball with Pastor Steven Pettit officiating. Cremation will follow the funeral and inurnment will be held at a later date. Friends may visit www.cantrellfh.com to view the obituary and leave condolences and stories for the family. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given in his memory to the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department or the Kimball County Manor. The services for Leo have been entrusted to the Cantrell Funeral Home.
Leo Arthur Koester was born February 5, 1933 to August and Elfieda (Kulbe) Koester, the youngest of 5 siblings. As a boy, he grew up on the family farm 22 miles north of Sterling, Colorado in the West Plains area. He attended Prairie View Elementary School. After school his daily chores included milking cows, separating cow’s milk, slopping hogs, hauling hay and picking corn and dealt with 40 to 50 head of cattle. He enjoyed rabbit and antelope hunting. In his High School Senior year, he built a miniature duplicate of the farm he was raised on. After graduating from Padroni High School, he worked for a local farmer and was on a two-man team that participated in several Wild Horse Races at the Logan County Fair. He then went to work in the oil field as a rough neck off and on for a year. Leo married Jessie King in Denver, Colorado on October 10, 1952, to this union two sons and a daughter were born. Four months later, he was drafted into the Army and attended Basic Training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Heavy Equipment training in Ft Belvoir, Virginia. He served in Korea for the next 1 ½ years as a mechanic for the Army. When he returned to the States, he went to Fort Carson, Colorado to finish his service with the military. After his discharge, Leo worked briefly in the oilfield and then at Higgins Motors in Sterling Colorado as a mechanic for 8 years. He also worked as a mechanic for Galloping Swede in New Castle, Wyoming. In 1964 he moved his family to Kimball, Nebraska where he worked for Sam Chambers as a mechanic on the Lynn Ranch, west of town before starting work at Larson Ford. In 1973, Leo bought Leo’s Liquor and Sporting Goods and operated the store until 1987. It was during this time that he began working as an Oil Field Mud Engineer for Magcobar Drilling Company. After a year with Magcobar, he started his own drilling mud business, Diamond Mud. Later in life Leo married Arlene Goodman and gained three daughters. Leo and Arlene had a wonderful life together until her death in 2015. After retiring from his many careers, Leo loved spending time with his family and also discovered he had a passion for wood working and making ink pens from a variety of materials, including Purple Heart wood, antelope horns and snake skins. Those lucky enough to have one of Leo’s pens, will cherish them forever. He also used his mechanical skills and completely rebuilt a 1959 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible to its original condition, which was his pride and joy. He was a member of the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department from 1971-1984 and then served as an honorary fireman.
Leo is survived by his children, Rodney (Lori) Koester of Gillette, WY, Steven (Faye) Koester of Clarksville, TN, Penny Koester Day of Thermopolis, WY, Sherri Goodman of Ft. Collins, CO, Jackie (Dan) Hoppes of Kimball, Darla (Dave) Klinkhammer of Kimball, Brothers Stan and Vern (Slim) and wife Barb of Padroni, CO. 15 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren. He was proceeded in death by his parents, his sister Alice Shepherd, brother Don Koester, first wife Jessie and wife Arlene.
