Lester Leon King, 78, Lincoln, NE, was born on February 11th, 1945, in Denver, Colorado, to Ethel King (Adkisson) and Herman L King, and passed away on August 9th, 2023, at Bryan West Hospice Unit.

Lester, affectionately known to his friends and family as Les, graduated from Northeast High School. Les was on the Northeast Wrestling Team his Junior and Senior year. He served in the US Navy from September of 1966 until his honorable discharge in 1971. Les served on the USS Hugh Purvis and he received a National Defense Service Medal. Throughout his career life, Les worked for SmithKline Beecham, Norton Labs, as well as the Department of Revenue in the Special Supply section.

When not metal detecting, Les could probably be found enjoying his love of trains with fellow members of the Lincoln Area Railway Historical Society. Les relished life and took pleasure in coaching his son's football team. One could find no bigger fan of John Wayne or NASCAR than we found in Les.

Les will be remembered most for his adoration of two of his grandchildren, Aubrey and Alex, taking an active "babysitting" role from the time of their infancy. Also, alongside Bonnie, the love of his life, Les and she taught a line-dancing class and passed on their enjoyment of dance to others. Les enjoyed life to its fullest all the way up to the time of his passing.

He is survived by his spouse Bonnie King (Coleman); two sons, Mike King (Lincoln), and Ryan King (Lincoln), four stepchildren, Thomas Crane (Lincoln), Wayne Crane (Des Moines, IA), Margaret Stinson (Lincoln); sister Betty Robertson, Sue Smith (sister-in-law); 9 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren.

Preceded in death by: parents Herman & Ethel King, Jesse Smith (brother), Gene Smith (brother), Perry Crow (stepson), Bob Robertson (brother-in-law), Esther Way (mother-in-law), Robert Coleman (brother-in-law), and Martha Smith (sister-in-law).