Lester R. Davis

Services for Lester R. Davis, 89, Topeka, will be at 11 a.m. Dec. 27 at Penwell-Gabel Mid-Town Chapel in Topeka. Burial will follow in Mount Hope Cemetery in Topeka.Mr. Davis died Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008, at Pioneer Ridge Retirement Community in Lawrence.He was born Nov. 13, 1919, in Moran, the son of Edwin T. and Dora Anderson Davis. He graduated from Iola High School in 1937.Mr. Davis was an Army veteran of World War II, serving in the Pacific Theater where he achieved the rank of first lieutenant. After returning from the service, he was a sportswriter for the Independence Reporter. He covered minor league baseball and junior college and high school sports. He entered the insurance business in 1953 and moved to Topeka in 1956. He worked for many years in various capacities for Security Benefit Life where he earned the designation of Chartered Life Underwriters (CLU).Mr. Davis was a member of Topeka Association of Life Underwriters; West Side Christian Church, where he was active in West Side Men’s Bible Study; West Side Rotary Club; and Veterans of Foreign Wars.He married Vera Marie Reinfeld on Nov. 16, 1941, in Iola. She died May 15, 2006.A son, James B. Davis, also preceded him in death on Feb. 14, 1995.Survivors include a son, Robert E. “Bob” and wife Linda, Lawrence; two grandsons, Steven M. and Paul J.; and a sister, Elizabeth Stephens, Denver.Friends may call after noon on Dec. 26 at Penwell-Gabel Mid-Town Chapel. The family will receive friends one hour prior to service time Dec. 27.The family suggests memorials to Parkinson Foundation Of The Heartland, 5200 Fox Chase Drive, Lawrence, KS 66049, or Coaches vs. Cancer, care of American Cancer Society, Heartland Division, 1315 S.W. Arrowhead Road, Topeka, KS 66604.Online condolences may be sent at PenwellGabel.com.