Lester (Moe) E. Ness Jr.

Lester was born Nov. 12, 1927 in Evanston, Ill., the son of Lester and Monica (Rondeau) Ness Sr. He graduated from the Escanaba High School in 1946. He served his country proudly in the United States Army where he achieved Expert rank in shooting marksmanship. Lester was united in marriage to Helen Mae Anderson on Nov. 4, 1950 in the St. Joseph Church in Escanaba. He was a member of the St. Joseph and St. Patrick Parish and worked as a mason for Roy Ness Construction for all of his working career, where he took great pride in his craft. He loved the outdoors, hunting, fishing and going to his children’s and grandchildren’s sporting events. He also obtained his pilot’s license in his younger years.

Lester is survived by his wife, Helen of Escanaba; his children, Tom (Joyce) Ness of Gladstone, Kathy (Rich) Kern of Gaylord, Mich., Laurie (Tom) Arkens of Neenah, Wis. and Karen (Bob) Berbohm of Escanaba; grandchildren, Kelsey and Jared Ness, Jen (Clete) Burrows, Brian Arkens, Madalynn (Mike) Haberkorn, Jessica (Mark) Chouinard, Krista (Josh) Pascoe and Kayla (Jason) VanDrese; 15 great-grandchildren; brothers, Bill (Shirley) Ness and Harold (Ruth) Ness; sister-in-law, Betty Jane Ness and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by a son, Michael John Ness, grandson, J.W. Pascoe, his parents, brother, Jim Ness, sister, Betty McLaughlin and brother-in-law, Don (Anna Mae) Anderson.

Private funeral services to celebrate the life of Lester will be held at the convenience of the family.

The Ness family would like to thank Dr. Whitmer, Dr. Hartman, Dr. Goulet and the Christian Park HealthCare Center family for their kind and compassionate care.

The family is being assisted by the Skradski Family Funeral Home in Escanaba.

For additional information or to leave the family a message of condolence, go to www.skradskifuneralhomes.com.