Subject: Obituary: Lester Gudgell, 93, Constitution-Tribune, Chillicothe, MO

From: Linda Gudgel Finnell <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2018 19:35:58 -0500

(Note:  Lester is descended from Daniel Gudgell).

Obituary- Constitution-Tribune, Chillicothe, MO, Tuesday, January 10, 2017:
LESTER GUDGELL

Lester Gudgell, age 93, a lifelong resident of Meadville, died Sunday,
January 8m 2917 at Life Care Center in Brookfield.  A funeral service
will be Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at Wright-Baker-Hill
Funeral Home in Brookfield.  Burial will be in Botts Cemetery in
Meadville.  The family will receive friends Tuesday at the funeral
home from 6:00 to 8:00 in the evening.  Memorials to Botts Cemetery.
(Note:
Lester Merle Gudgell, son of Vern and Ruth (Palmer) Gudgell, was born
April 14, 1923, in Meadville.  On June 7, 1947, he married Mildred
Gray.  Lester had farmed all of his life near Meadville.  He also had
been a bus driver and had worked as a janitor for the Meadville School
District.  He had also managed the Horseshoe Gas Station in Anderson
for several years.  He had worked for Bron Construction as a
card-carrying ironworker and superintendent of construction.  He drove
a truck for Suburban Propane and later managed the plant in Meadville.
After his retirement from Suburban he worked for the Linn-Livingston
Water District N o. 3 in Meadville.

He was a US Army Veteran of World War II and was awarded five Bronze
Stars for his service.  He was inducted into the US Army in January of
1943, training at Camp Santa Anita, California and was sent to England
with the 458th Ordinance Evacuation Company.  His company arrived at
Utah Beach following D-Day and then to Omaha Beach and took part in
five major battles in the Rhineland, Ardennes, Normandy, Northern
France, and Central Europe before arriving in Germany.

He was honorably discharged in 1945, arriving home on Thanksgiving Eve.

He was a member of American Legion Post 538, the Meadville Lions Club,
and Meadville Masonic Lodge.  He also served on the Botts Cemetery
Board.

Survivors include his wife, Mildred of Brookfield, four children,
Nancy Groves and husband Wesley, of Linneus; Benny Joe Gudgell and
wife, Debbie of Meadville; Peggy Lopez and husband, Johnny of New
Boston, Texas;  and Paul Gudgell and wife, Crystal, of Meadville;
thirteen grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and two great
great-grandchildren.

His parents; one son, Ray Gudgell; one brother, Carl Gudgell; and one
sister, Clara Jordan, preceded him in death.