Lester M. Whitfield Jr.

Lester Mason Whitfield, Jr. beloved father, husband, uncle, cousin, grandpa, great grandpa, and friend. Lester was born July 2, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York. He was the youngest child of the late Lester Whitfield Sr. and Adeline Bowe Whitfield.

Lester grew up in Freeport, Long Island where he was baptized in the Atlantic Ocean witnessed by the Church of God membership. At the age of nine, he relocated to Corona, New York, joined the First Baptist Church, sung in the church choir, and attended New York City public schools. During the segregation period, he enlisted in the United States Army in 1948 before completing high school, but later obtained his General Education Development (GED) Diploma from New York University. His first duty assignment was with the 74th Engineer Combat Battalion in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Shortly thereafter, he completed Jump School in Fort Benning, Georgia and became an Army paratrooper. He was extremely proud and honored to become a member of the Third Battalion (all black), 505th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. (The Third Battalion was formerly known as the 555th, better known as the “Triple Nickles” and was the first all black Parachute Infantry.)

In December 1950, when there was a request for black military policemen in the Army, Lester was transferred to the New Provisional Military Police Platoon, where he was part of , but apart from the 82nd Airborne Military Police Company. He served as a military police officer for two years and in 1952, he voluntarily separated from the military with an honorable discharge and married his childhood sweetheart Doris Winkler. From that union came Kenneth, Ricky, and Sharon. He began an apprenticeship as a Machinist while in the employ of Ford Instrument Company and became a Machinist First Class in 1956 while employed at Republic Aviation Corporation.

In 1969, Lester and his family relocated to his first owned home in Roosevelt Long Island, New York. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Roosevelt Fire Volunteer Department and later served as Captain at Hose Company #3 from 1975-1976. Lester married his second wife, Dorothy Thouborne in 1970.

Lester was employed as a Road Car Inspector with the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) in 1969. While employed at the NYCTA, he became a part-time Real Estate Agent (1975-1979). He became a licensed Real Estate Broker in 1979 and opened his own office, 14 Karat Realty Corporation, and had several staff members. He retired from the NYCTA in 1989, left his real estate business to his staff, and moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia. He obtained his second Real Estate Broker’s License in 1990. In March 1994, he relocated from Virginia to Las Vegas, Nevada where he again met his current wife, Winfrey, who he first met in 1952. They married in 1996. Lester started attending Calvary Southern Baptist Church in 1995 and became a member shortly thereafter. He was faithful in attending worship services and the Men’s Sunday School Class. He loved his church and church family dearly.

Lester’s proudest memories beside the birth of his children are: Attending the Martin Luther King march in Washington D.C. in 1963; First black member and Captain of Hose Company #3 Roosevelt Fire Department; Life membership in the Triple Nickles - 82nd Airborne Division; the day Barrack Obama was elected president of the United States (2008), and the day President Obama was reelected (2012). He is preceded in death by his parents, Lester Whitfield Sr. and Adeline Bowe Whitfield, his sister Jean, his second wife, Dorothy Thouborne, and son Ricky. He leaves to cherish his memory, his wife Winfrey, son Kenneth, daughter Sharon, and stepson Kyle (Yicet), a host of grandchildren, great grandchildren, family and friends.

A memorial service for Lester will be held Friday, March 14, 2025 at 11:30 AM at Calvary Southern Baptist Church, 1600 E Cartier Ave, North Las Vegas, NV 89030.