Gerald Kester and Valda Kathleen Dowdy
Husband Gerald Kester
Born: 17 Sep 1917 - Cory, Clay County, IN Baptized: Died: 7 Jan 2015 - Terre Haute, Vigo County, IN Buried: - Oak Hill Cemetery, Riley, Vigo County, IN Find A Grave ID: 149043107
Father: Rudolph Benjamin Kester {FSID: L4SJ-F4W, FGID: 68229658} Mother: Goldie E. Shaw {FSID: KV5M-251, FGID: 68230091}
Marriage: 1 Dec 1945 - Washington, DC
Wife Valda Kathleen Dowdy
Born: 10 Jul 1923 - Shawnee, Pottawatomie County, OK Baptized: Died: 25 Sep 2006 - Terre Haute, Vigo County, IN Buried: - Oak Hill Cemetery, Riley, Vigo County, IN FamilySearch ID: LZ89-H6L Find A Grave ID: 68232962
Children
1 M Keith Marcus (Marc) Kester
Born: Baptized: Died: Buried:
2 F Jeanie Nicola Kester
Born: Cir 1947 Baptized: Died: Buried:Spouse: Paul McElwain
General Notes: Husband - Gerald Kester
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149043107/gerald-kester
BIRTH 17 Sep 1917
Cory, Clay County, Indiana, USA
DEATH 7 Jan 2015 (aged 97)
Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana, USA
BURIAL
Oak Hill Cemetery
Riley, Vigo County, Indiana, USA
MEMORIAL ID 149043107
Twin of Harold
Gerald Kester, of Terre Haute, formerly of Cory, died July 1, 2015. He was born Sept. 17, 1917, in Cory, to Rudolph and Goldie Shaw Kester. Gerald was raised on the family farm outside Cory with his identical twin, Harold, and six other brothers and sisters. He and Harold won first prize at the State Fair for their Poland China Hog. They sometimes earned money for the family by working on neighbors’ farms. They graduated from Cory High School in 1936 and went on to Purdue University, taking Bacholor of Science degrees in Agriculture, sometimes sitting in for each other in classes because they were tired and overbooked from working multiple jobs to pay for school. Both became vocational agricultural teachers, Gerald working in Merrillville and Harold at Brownstown. At the end of their first year of teaching, each was drafted into the Army, where both entered the U.S. Army Air Corps. On Sept. 20, 1942, Harold died in a training accident in Alabama while flying the infamous “flying coffin” B-24 airplane. Gerald gave the eulogy at his funeral to an overflowing, and tearful, crowd at the Cory Methodist Episcopal church. Gerald went on to get his wings as a pilot of the B-17 and fly 50 missions over Europe, the first 27 with the 8th Air Force out of England and the remaining 23 with the 15th Air Force out of Italy. Before he left for Europe, his sister received a letter from a woman in Oklahoma whose daughter had known Harold while he was training at Chikashaw, Okla. It included a poem, “Somewhere, Somehow,” that her daughter, Valda, had written for the brides who had lost their husbands in the war. Gerald wrote the young lady and she replied. At the end of the War, Dec. 1, 1945 they were married by the chaplain of the Senate, Frederick Brown Harris, in Washington, D.C., witnessed by his sister Jo. Her husband, Bud Staggs, who was stationed at Annapolis, stood up as his best man.
Gerald went on to get a Masters in Agriculture at Ohio State University and then a position in Ohio, near Columbus, working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His two children, Jeanie Nicola and Keith Marcus, were born there. Because of Valda’s frail health, he was given a transfer to Arizona, where he researched, mapped, and wrote the definitive Soil Survey for Navajo County. He was promoted to assistant state soil scientist for the State of Arizona, a position he held for four years. He next went to Escondido, Calif., where he led the soil survey for that county until he was able to live one of his dreams, to live and work overseas.
For five years he and Valda lived in Bellary, India, where Gerald was part of India’s Green Revolution, teaching Indian colleagues how to preserve precious water in the agriculture of the high Deccan plateau of central South India. On his return, he worked for a year in Susanville, Calif., and then retired to the home farm where he was raised.
Gerald and Valda were active in the Methodist church wherever they went, serving in many offices and roles. They loved to travel, and Gerald was proud of his life as a “globetrotter,” in his later years showing all his guests his list of the many countries he had visited.
He was also a writer. In addition to his monumental Soil Survey, he wrote a screenplay of Grant’s siege and capture of Vicksburg. In his final years, he wrote "The 11th Airman: a Love Story" about Harold’s life in the military and his relationship with Valda, the young co-ed whom Gerald later married. In this book, he writes about an experience he had near the end of the war, in which he saw his deceased twin, Harold,sitting next to him in a cockpit. Harold gave him a thumbs up and said “We made it.” Gerald has since referred to death as only “the great divide” and declared that he was not afraid of it.
Those who preceded across that “great divide,” in addition to his parents, his brother, Harold, and his wife, Valda, are his brothers, Kermit Kester of Cory, and Billy of Tampa, Fla.; and his sisters, Jackie Dishon, Dorothy Price and Dolores Sparks, all of Cory. He is survived by his sister, Jo Kester of Libbey, Mont.; son, Keith Marcus Kester of Cory; daughter, Jeanie Kester McElwain of Spencer; son-in-law, Paul McElwain of Spencer; nieces, Frances Sparks of Fillmore and Vicki Hofmann of Terre Haute; nephew Kermit Sparks of Terre Haute; and by numerous nephews and nieces in Indiana and elsewhere.
Viewing and services will be at Oak Hill Community Church in Riley at 10055 S. Indiana 46, Thursday, July 9. Viewing will be from 9 to 11 a.m. Service will be at 11 a.m. A reception will immediately follow the service. The church is handicapped accessible.
Family Members
Parents
Rudolph Benjamin Kester 1879–1966
Goldie E. Shaw Kester 1889–1984
Spouse
Valda Kathleen Dowdy Kester 1923–2006 (m. 1945)
Siblings
Dorothy R. Kester Price 1907–2002
James Kermit Kester 1915–1978
Billy Gene Kester 1928–2006
Created by: Richard Dowdy
Added: 10 Jul 2015
Find a Grave Memorial 149043107
memorial page for Gerald Kester (17 Sep 1917–7 Jan 2015), Find a Grave Memorial no. 149043107, citing Oak Hill Cemetery, Riley, Vigo County, Indiana, USA ; Maintained by Richard Dowdy (contributor 47481679) .
General Notes: Wife - Valda Kathleen Dowdy
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68232962/valda-kathleen-kester
BIRTH 10 Jul 1923
Shawnee, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, USA
DEATH 25 Sep 2006 (aged 83)
Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana, USA
BURIAL
Oak Hill Cemetery
Riley, Vigo County, Indiana, USA
MEMORIAL ID 68232962
Valda K. Kester, 83, of Terre Haute and formerly of Cory died at 1:55 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, 2006, in Terre Haute. She was born July 10, 1923, in Shawnee, Okla., to Edward Hall Dowdy and Coila Lee Dowdy.
Survivors include her husband of 60 years, Gerald Kester; one son, Marc Kester of Cory; one daughter, Jeanie McElwain and husband Paul of Clinton, Wash.; one grandson, Brian McElwain of Washington; and two granddaughters, Laurie Rosalie and Andrea Rosalie, both of Washington. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, and an infant son.
She received her master’s degree in psychology, graduated from the University of Arizona, and Indiana State University.
She was a poet, author, teacher, lay preacher, traveler and loving wife. She will be missed by those who loved her. Writing poetry came naturally to her with her first poem being written at age 7. At age 15 she won the Oklahoma State Essay Writing for the American Legion. She wrote a book of poems, also writing light and dramatic skits through the years for youth groups as well as selected adult groups. She won a limerick contest in 1995 from the Tribune-Star.
When her husband accepted an agricultural assignment in India, her vagabond or gypsy years began and carried over into her husband’s retirement years. She traveled twice around the world, saw over 50 countries, visiting the Taj Mahal in India, climbing to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico, walked the Great Wall of China, sailed the Sea of Galilee, boated down the Grand Canal of China, saw the sunrise over Mount Kilimanjaro, and had dinner with Tenzing Norgay, the first man to be photographed at the top of Mount Everest. She experienced the thrill of riding down the mountain side of the historically famous Darjeeling, India Narrow Gauge railroad, walked down an airplane ramp in Calcutta with the king of Sikkim at her side, to name a few of the wonderments she gleaned from life. Another accomplishment was being the editor for her husband’s old 96th Bomber Group of World War II. In 1986 she was inducted into the Hall of Fame at her undergraduate college of the University of Science and Art in Oklahoma. She was an aircraft inspector at Douglas Aircraft. She was a member of United Methodist Temple, as well as being dean of Lay Leaders Speakers for 10 years.
University of Science and Arts Oklahoma
Family Members
Parents
Edward H. Dowdy 1886–1970
Coila Lee Norman Dowdy 1893–1973
Spouse
Gerald Kester 1917–2015 (m. 1945)
Siblings
Lewis Dowman Dowdy 1918–1993
Kenneth Lloyd Dowdy 1925–1942
Inscription
Together 60 Years
"Homecoming
Enwrapped in peace
I come to Thee,
My soul, at last,
Unfettered, free!
The bonds that
Held me close to earth
Have loosed their hold
In my rebirth.
The fear, the pain
That were a part
Of life below
Have left my heart...
And now, this dawn,
The truth I see,
That you, dear God,
Have called to me.
And it is not with
fear I go,
For in my heart of hearts,
I know
That you, my altar
And my fire,
Have always been
My soul's desire.
No longer will
My spirit roam.
It's heavenbound;
I'm coming home.
- by Valda"
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LZ89-H6L
"Birth • 10 jul 1923
Oklahoma, United States
Death • 25 Sep 2003
Terre Haute, Vigo, Indiana, United States"
Notes: Marriage
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149043107/gerald-kester
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68232962/valda-kathleen-kester
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