Lester Felker, 93, passed away in his sleep in the very early hours on Saturday, June 29, 2024, a week after he and his wife, Gloria, celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary with friends and family. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, pastor, and friend, and was well known as a kind, compassionate man with a joke for every occasion. Les is survived by his wife Gloria, and four of his five sons – Larry and his wife Patricia, Randy's wife Suzanne, Tim and his wife Janice, Brent and his wife Diane, and Brian. Les is also survived by his grandchildren Matthew and his wife Tasha, Jennifer and her husband Jon, Jessamyn, Andrew and his wife Taylor, Austin, Marquesa and her husband Justin, and Janice's daughter Samantha. Les was predeceased by his second eldest son, Randy.

Les was born on February 27, 1931, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where his younger brother and his wife still live. As a teenager, Les accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, and in 1947, a mutual friend introduced Les to Gloria at a Youth for Christ rally. Weeks later, after assembling the new motor scooter he bought for his sixteenth birthday, Les took it for a test drive around the block and saw that "pretty girl" standing at a bus stop. He waved each of the three times he circled the block before he stopped and offered her a ride. She readily accepted, and they have been in love ever since.

While still attending seminary, Les and Glo married on June 21, 1952, and honeymooned in Colorado. Les, his bride, and their first two children went to his first church in Polk, Nebraska, where they had three more children – the last two were twins, and then on to his next church in Flint, Michigan. Les began and ended his ministry as a civilian pastor but he had a heart for serving his country as well as serving his Lord. He had already been in the US Naval Reserve as an airplane mechanic starting in 1948, and became a US Army reserve chaplain in 1956, but he went on active duty as a US Air Force chaplain in 1963 after the Cuban Missile Crisis because he did not like the thought of American men and women going to war without knowing about the love of Christ.

Les served in the US Air Force from 1963 to 1984 and retired as a full colonel. Duty stations were Keesler AFB in Mississippi, Kadena AB in Okinawa, Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota, Shemya AFB in Alaska, Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Ramstein AB and Vogelweh Housing in Germany, Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver, and Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. Les and Glo settled into retirement in Aurora, Colorado where they were eventually surrounded by their five sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. He served first as the executive pastor for Faith Presbyterian Church from 1985 to 1993 and then as a part-time associate pastor from 1993 to 1999, and as a part-time assistant pastor of Congregational Care at Colorado Community Church from 2003 to 2016. He retired so many times that he joked, "I've grown fond of retirement parties!" While working part-time, Les continued his spiritual support for the military by serving as a contingency chaplain for the National Guard at Buckley Air Force Base for several years.

A Memorial Celebration will be held on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at 10 AM at Colorado Community Church, 14000 E Jewell Ave, Aurora, CO 80012.  A committal service will be held at Ft. Logan Cemetery, Denver, CO at 2 PM.  (STAGING AREA "C")