Lester LaVerne Liefer, 92

DOVER - Lester LaVerne Liefer, of Dover, died Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at his Luther Towers home. He was 92.

Mr. Liefer was born Aug. 3, 1915, in LaPorte, Ind., to the late Henry Cornelius Liefer and Mildred Elite Crane Liefer.

He worked as an executive for Tyler Refrigeration Co., Niles, Mich., from 1940 until 1951, when the firm purchased Wilson Refrigeration Co. Mr. Leifer was named comptroller of the new acquisition and transferred to its Smyrna location.

He was involved in many community activities after moving to Delaware, including Rotary International and the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singers of America, and served on the Smyrna Council.

He served as YMCA president while living in Niles .

Mr. Liefer moved to the greater Orlando, Fla., area in 1962, and toiled as an accountant and comptroller for a number of firms over the following years, among them Industrial Equipment Co. and Babcock Electronics.

He retired from Mills Nebraska Lumber Co. in 1979 and traveled across the U.S. in his Airstream trailer.

Mr. Liefer worked eight part-time years at Sun Bank in Central Florida before moving back to Delaware in 1993.

He was a part-time employee at the Lowe's Dover store from 1993-95.

Mr. Liefer was a lifelong oil paint artist. His painting, titled "Old Cronies," was one of 200 selected in 2001 from senior artists across the country to hang in the new headquarters of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Liefer was a member of AARP Chapter 721 and the Modern Maturity Center, Dover.

He was an avid golfer and league bowler and participated in the Senior Olympics. He also enjoyed square dancing, playing cards and cribbage and boating and fishing.

Mr. Liefer was preceded in death by his wife of 73 years, June Marie Liefer, who died April 7, 2008.

He is survived by his daughter, Betty Jean Stevens and her husband Ronald H. of Dover; four granddaughters, Lynn Eichler and her husband Paul of Dover, Kimberly Riggs and her husband Kent of Newark, Shelley Stevens and her partner Joanne Locke of Cherry Hill, N.J., and Jill Olshenske and her husband Al of Dover; and seven great-grandchildren, Steven, Will and John Eichler, Jenna and Caitlin Riggs, and Logan and Abby Olshenske.

Memorial services will be 11 a.m. July 12 at Luther Towers I, 430 Kings Highway, Dover.

Private burial will be in the family plot in Orlando.

Instead of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Delaware Hospice, 911 S. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901; or Luther Towers Memorial Fund, 430 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

Arrangements by Torbert Funeral Chapel, Dover.

Letters of condolence may be sent and guestbook signed at www.torbertfuneral.com.