Ernest Lester a live truck and satellite truck operator at WFOR died in an accident Saturday afternoon. CBS4.com story quotes his brother Edwin, assignment manager at WSVN, saying Ernest was on his way home riding his motorbike when a Volvo turning left while not having the right of way pulled in front of him, Ernest struck the car trying to avoid it.
Before getting into the television business, Ernest was a Sergeant in the US Air Force and a nuclear weapons technician. He has been at WFOR for 10 years, before that he was a news engineer at WTVJ.
Our condolences to Edwin, the Lester family, and everyone at WFOR.
DEEPLY MISSED…. a friend for close to 30 years since school and in work place…. love and sorrow a the Lester family.
to the Lester family.
May god be with his family and friends. My thoughts and prayers go out to you all.
May God bless him and his family. He will be truly missed by all those at WFOR. My thoughts and condolences are with the Lester family.
so horrible for this to happen at Easter…words can’t express the sorrow felt for that family. RIP.
I didn’t know him well, but I knew his face when I was out and about. My thoughts are with his family.
A big, bright smile was Ernest’s signature. It was the first thing you saw (despite his considerably large frame), the first thing that met you when you walked up to him. Then came the friendly bear hug and a peck on the cheek. But there was much more to Ernest. He was smart as a whip. And he was well-read. In fact, he always had a book handy for the down times.
I’ll never forget our talks about books and about our children. Ernest loved his daughter Precious. Every time we worked together he would fill me in on her latest adventures at school, his worries about her growing up, her learning to drive. Year after year he would show me her new school picture. That’s how I saw her grow into a young lady, the apple of her father’s eyes. I hope she knows how much he loved her. And how much we loved and respected her father. Ernest was not only a great guy, he was a professional. He was the best live/sat truck operator at cbs4. The minute he got to a scene, he set up, everything ready to go, nothing for the reporter and photog to worry about. But whereas some truck ops figure there job is done at that point, Ernest routinely went beyond… he was part of the news crew, just like the rest of us. He would walk around interviewing people trying to get information (and often getting good tips). If the photog was busy and something needed to be shot, he would pick up the camera and start shooting. The only thing i don’t ever remember him doing is actually getting in front of the camera and doing a live shot. I’m sure he could have done that too if he had to.
Ernest, by his own accounts, was no saint. He grew up in a tough hood and made something of himself. To his credit, so many of us consider ourselves fortunate to have worked with him and to have shared his friendship. May he rest in peace.