Lester Robinson left this earthly world on April 1, 2020 with his sister Darlene by his side. Lester and his twin brother Leslie were born in Klamath Falls, OR on July 31, 1957 to Hazel Hecocta Robinson and Leslie (Chunky) Robinson. Lester graduated from Chiloquin High School. Lester married Jo Wiseman in 1989. Lester was the father of three sons, Staff Sargent Lester Thurman Robinson (deployed), Jesse James Robinson (TX) and Tyrone Beau Robinson (KFalls) and daughter Annie Witcraft (KFalls); the grandfather of six, Jordan Witcraft, Brittney Bates, Taiton Robinson, Theron Robinson, Avery Robinson and Rayne Robinson.
Lester was a full-blooded member of The Klamath Tribes. He worked as a wildland firefighter and for years served as a Community Health Representative and Transporter for Klamath Tribal Health before leaving the Klamath area to be with his wife in the Portland area. Upon returning to the Klamath area, he returned to transporting clients. Lester was proud to provide service to the Tribal members and made sure to make time for their needs when transporting them to their appointments.
Family was what was most important to Lester. Nothing was more important to him than spending time with his grandchildren. Every chance he would pick them up to go eat, watch a movie, or have a sleep over. He was a loving brother, father, grandfather, uncle and friend, he will be missed by many; especially his dry sense of humor.
His son Thurman had these memories to share.
I remember how envious I am of dad, able to start a conversation with total strangers with ease, like he had no fear. He inspired me to pursue wildland firefighting, to follow in his footsteps. I will cherish all the hunting and camping trips we took as a family. I will always remember my first hunting trip. Dad took me and Delton out. We came across a herd of deer, Delton and I both had rifles. Dad took the rifle from me because he liked to be in control. He let Delton take the shot. Delton missed and we followed the deer, Delton took another shot and hit the deer. Delton and I stayed with his deer while dad chased the rest of the group.
My favorite memory though, is watching him laugh. I found a native comedy video called “Slapping the Medicine Man” by the 1492’s. I showed it to him one day sitting at the table. He got to laughing, like really laughing; his eyes were closed, his mouth was open in a huge smile, and he was wheezing out ha-ha. He would get that way sometimes and it would seem like he was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe. Watching him laugh always brought me the most joy.
Services for Lester will be held at a later date after the restrictions are lifted and his son is home from deployment. It was Lester’s wish to be placed with his twin brother in the Paiute Cemetery in Beatty, Oregon.
