David E. Jester

David E. Jester, Mooreland, fought the good fight and finished his race after 72 years of life on Sunday, May 3, 2020. Over the past two and a half years since being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, Dave pursued discovering what happens after this life is finished. Most people who knew Dave would describe him as a good man (an ornery one but a good one), a good husband and great father and grandfather, but Dave began to question whether being good is “good enough” to get him to what he knew was a very real place – Heaven. In his search, Dave made the decision to put his trust in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and was baptized with his children and grandchildren as his witnesses on March 11, 2018. Even when his battle with cancer was ugly, Dave continued to read his Bible, ask tough questions and pray with anyone who would ask to pray with him, recognizing that God is good even when life isn’t.

Born October 4, 1947 in New Castle to his parents Robert and Jean (Semler) Jester, Dave and his three brothers, Larry (Bobetta), Phil (Marlene), and Mark (Dareth), grew up in the Mooreland area. Dave graduated in 1966 from Blue River Valley High School and the following fall, married his high school sweetheart, Sue (Conwell) Jester on October 16. Farming got into Dave’s blood at an early age and was his passion his whole life, raising his three boys, Jeff, Scott and Greg, to share that same passion.

In addition to raising sheep, cattle and hogs, Dave worked off the farm at Westinghouse for ten years, before starting his second full-time career, driving a school bus for Blue River Valley for 38 years before retiring because of his illness. He loved and cared about each of his “bus kids” and was proud to drive the second generation of many of the families on his route.

His passion for raising quality livestock spilled over into helping other families through the Henry County 4-H program and by being instrumental in starting the Hoosier Beef Show, also in Henry County. Dave volunteered his time in the garden display building at Mooreland Free Fair, served on the Henry County Planning Commission, sincerely enjoyed tractor and machinery shows, and was a member of the Masonic lodges in Mooreland and then Hagerstown since 1975.

Dave and his bride of over 53 years, Sue, were/are the proud parents of three sons, Jeff (Shauna) of Springport, Scott (Jamie) of Winchester and Greg (Marci) of Mooreland. In turn, Dave and Sue made a special effort to treat every one of their 16 grandchildren and two great grandchildren as their very own - even with different last names, there are no “steps” in the Jester family. Their grandchildren are Annie (Sharp) Koontz, Nate Gibson, Taylor Jester, Kendon Hoover, Mariah Jester, Mallery Sharp, Ty Jester, Bailey Jester, Brandy Jester, Whitney Jester, Allison Jester, Liam Jester, Kole Jester, Elijah Jester, Waylyn Jester, Adelyne Jester, great-granddaughters, Kamryn and Kinsley Koontz, and a number of wonderful nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Two grandsons Kaleb and Chance, went ahead of Dave to be with Jesus. In addition to two grandsons, and his parents, Dave was preceded in death by his in-laws, John and Betty Conwell, his brother, Larry and a sister-in-law, Janet Justice Benson.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 8, 2020 at Hinsey-Brown Funeral Service in New Castle with Joe Hines and John Garrett officiating. Burial will follow in Mooreland Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3 – 8p.m. Thursday, May 7th at the funeral home. Please be prepared to wait as we are only limited to 25 guests in attendance at a time. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent in Dave’s honor to Oakville Brethren Church, P.O. Box 307, Oakville, IN 47367, Little Red Door of East Central Indiana, 2311 W Jackson St., Muncie, IN 47303 or the ministry or charity of your choice. You may express condolences, share a memory of David, view the service live or send a Hug from Home, all available at www.hinsey-brown.com . A memorial service will be held at the Oakville Brethren Church at a later date.

Please view the service live at David's Funeral Webcast . If you have any issues viewing, please call 765-529-7100 for assistance.