Lester W. "Bud" Longacher

Lester W. "Bud" Longacher, age 95, a lifelong resident of Dover, passed away Tuesday, February 26, 2019, in Union Hospital under the care of Community Hospice.

Born January 14, 1924, he was a son of the late William F. and Elizabeth E. Rufener Longacher. Lester attended Dover High School, and went on to serve honorably with the United States Army during the Second World War. He married the former Mary Eloise “Ellie” Kiger on September 10, 1949. The couple shared nearly sixty-seven years of marriage prior to Ellie’s passing on August 15, 2016. Lester retired as a mechanic for Dover’s Shaffer Trucking.

He was a member of St. John United Church of Christ in Strasburg; the Strasburg American Legion; the New Philadelphia Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars; and the Pine Hill Hunting Club, Dover.

Survivors include his son, Randy (Diane) Longacher of Dover; his grandson, Scott (Cindy) McCartney, also of Dover; his great-grandchildren, Jordan and Maddison McCartney; his sister-in-law, Eva Jean Longacher of Dover; and his nieces and nephews.

Besides his parents, and his beloved Ellie, Lester was preceded in death by his infant sons, Denny and Bobby Longacher; his sisters, Frieda Kohl, Mabel Dreher, Elda Mizer and Esther “Sis” Froman; his brothers, Oscar and Kenneth Longacher.

A funeral service will be held Saturday, March 2, at 1:30 p.m., in the Toland-Herzig Funeral Home & Crematory, Dover, with Pastor Jason Rissler officiating. Burial will be in Dover Burial Park where military rites will be conducted. Following the committal, there will be a lunch in the funeral home’s Famous Endings Museum. Family and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Friday, March 1, 6 – 8 p.m. To sign an online guestbook and share a fond memory of Lester, please visit the obituaries link on the Toland-Herzig website.

The family suggests that contributions in Lester’s memory be made to Community Hospice, 716 Commercial Ave. S.W., New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663.