Larry Eugene Lester

Larry was born August 10, 1967, in Memphis, Tennessee. His early years took him through Texas and Louisiana before his family eventually settled in Virginia during his teenage years. After high school, he began working in the electrical trade and spent the majority of his career in management in the industrial electrical field.

But work was never what defined Larry.

If you knew Larry, you knew he loved to fish. Freshwater, saltwater - it really didn't matter as long as there was water and he could put a line in it. He spent years fishing tournaments, designed and patented his own fishing worm, and was well known for his talent for making his own baits. He loved his boat and he loved to go fast in it, which earned him the nickname "Rocket Man." He was a die-hard Chevy man and loved classic rock music.

Growing up in Louisiana and Texas also gave Larry a lifelong love of Cajun food and seafood. Shrimp could be cooked just about any way possible and he would eat it - very much a Bubba Gump kind of situation. But nothing quite measured up to his mom's and grandmother's jambalaya and gumbo. Larry eventually got pretty good at making it himself, and plenty of family and friends will also remember his famous fish fries.

When he wasn't fishing, Larry loved building and flying RC airplanes. He would have given just about anything to have gotten his pilot's license, and his love of airplanes never went away.

Depending on when and how you knew Larry, you may have known him as Scooter, Little Larry, Larbear, Rocket Man, or even Beach Body - a nickname from back in the day that probably comes with a few stories of its own.

More than any of those things, though, Larry loved his family.

He and his wife, Dianna, were married on April 25, 1992, and celebrated 34 years of marriage this past April. Together they raised their two sons, Tanner and Logan. Larry was incredibly proud of his boys and especially proud of the men they grew up to become. He loved their wives, Hannah and Zofia, and was so looking forward to becoming a grandfather for the first time, with Logan and Zofia expecting a baby any day now.

Larry was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses on February 2, 1992, and remained a faithful servant of Jehovah throughout his life. If you got Larry started on a spiritual conversation, he could take you from Genesis to Revelation all in one swoop. He loved being part of the congregation and deeply loved his spiritual brothers and sisters. The friendships, encouragement and support he found within his spiritual family meant so much to him throughout his life.

Those who knew Larry well knew that he could be bigger than life. He could fill up a room, tell a story, make you laugh, drive you absolutely crazy, and, believe it or not, underneath all of that he could actually be a little shy.

In 2014, an accident changed life as Larry and his family knew it. It took nearly three years, multiple surgeries and a whole lot of determination to rebuild his leg and get him back on his feet. With the support of family and friends, he made his way back to work - and, of course, back to fishing. Life was never quite the same afterward. There were limitations and challenges, and the last couple of years brought even more struggles with his health. But Larry kept going. He kept smiling, kept laughing and kept fishing whenever he could, even when it became harder to do the things he loved.

Larry was preceded in death by his father, Larry Eugene Lester, Sr.

He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Dianna; his sons, Tanner and Logan, and their wives, Hannah and Zofia; his mother, Barbara; and his sisters, Susan (Clive), Synthia and Andrea (David). He also leaves behind a huge extended family of in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins and an aunt, along with many close friends who became family along the way. Larry was deeply loved, and family was very important to him.

There are a lifetime of Larry stories, and Tanner and Logan could probably tell some of the best ones. He drove all of us nuts at times and made us laugh more times than we could ever count.

After 34 years of marriage, two boys, countless fishing trips, backyard fish fries, airplanes, boats and more stories than could ever be told, their life together was never, ever boring. It is impossible to fit who Larry was into a few paragraphs.

He was a husband. A dad. Almost a granddad. A son. A brother. A nephew. A cousin. Uncle Larry. A friend. A faithful servant of Jehovah. And, of course, a fisherman through and through.

And he will be missed more than words can say.

A service celebrating Larry's life will be held on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Richard Bland College, 11301 Johnson Road, South Prince George, VA 23805, in the Ernst Hall Auditorium, followed by a reception at the Campus Barn.

Guest parking available in the Maze Hall lot. For those unable to attend in person, please use the ZOOM link below:

Meeting ID: 837 0615 6979

Passcode: 091226