FRAZEYSBURG – Earl Lester Fitzgerald, 89, of Frazeysburg, Ohio died Friday evening, April 29, 2011 at Autumn Health Care, Zanesville, Ohio after a brief illness.
Lester was born April 28, 1922 in a log cabin near Adamsville, Ohio to the late John and Anna Pearl (Courtwright) Fitzgerald. He married Doris (Lapp) on March 31, 1945 and they celebrated 59 years of marriage before her death on April 21, 2004.
A lifelong farmer in Coshocton and Muskingum Counties, Lester was dedicated to use of conservation tillage and erosion control practices on the family Edgewater Farm near Frazeysburg. He served on the Muskingum Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors, Muskingum County Farm Bureau Board and received numerous corn and soybean production awards and was a recipient of the USEPA Water Conservation Award.
An accomplished woodsman, hunter, and trapper, Lester volunteered untold hours teaching outdoor skills and mentoring Ohio youth in the lost art of living on the land. He was a founding member of the Ohio Trappers Association and received many awards and recognition for his efforts promoting ethical use and conservation of wildlife, especially furbearers. In addition to farming, Lester's life included working as a coal miner, timber hauler, logger, school bus driver, forest fire warden and dairy farmer. He was a member of the Frazeysburg United Methodist Church for 52 years and was a participant in the community wild game feast held in March.
Surviving are two daughters, Connie (Len) Rine of Frazeysburg and Joyce L. Fitzgerald of Simpsonville, Kentucky; a granddaughter Vicki (Kevin) Leach of Dresden, Ohio and a grandson Nathan (Ashley) Vance of Trinway, Ohio; two great grandsons, Adam Green and Andrew Green of Dresden. He is also survived by a sister Clara Belle Parks of Coshocton, Ohio; his special friend and neighbor, Ellie Ross; nephews Lester (Junior) Moore, Frazeysburg and Mark Fitzgerald, Coshocton; and many other special nieces, nephews and their families throughout Ohio; three step-grandchildren, Eric Rine of Dublin, Ohio, Amanda (Mark) Day, of Powell, Ohio and Brandie (Erik) Peterson of Mt. Vernon, Ohio and three step-great grandsons.
In addition to his parents and wife he was preceded in death by brothers Joseph, Virgil, Harold, and Kenneth and sisters Florence Scanlon, Sarah Mae Fliger, Dorothy Marie Baker and Gertrude Walters.
A special thank you is given to the wonderful staff at Autumn Health Care and Genesis Hospice for their care of Dad and their comfort to the family.
Calling hours will be 5 to 8pm Monday, May 2, 2011 at the Frazeysburg Chapel of Vensil-Orr & Chute Funeral Home, 110 West Third Street.
Funeral services will be 1:30 Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at the Frazeysburg United Methodist Church, 87 West Second Street, Frazeysburg with the Rev. Robert Mesnard officiating. Burial will be in New Hope Cemetery, Adamsville, Ohio.
The family requests that memorial tree plantings using native Ohio hardwood species such as walnut, hickory or oaks, be made as a way to honor Lester's love of woodlands and wildlife. Financial donations may be made to the Frazeysburg United Methodist Church Building Fund, 87 West Second Street, Frazeysburg, Ohio 43822 or the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation Summer Conservation Camp Fund at www.kentuckywildlife.com.