LEWISTON – Lester S. Dow Sr., 98, a resident of Livermore, died Saturday, Sept. 30, at Marshwood Center for Healthcare and Rehabilitation, surrounded by his family. He had been a resident for 22 months, and he enjoyed singing to the nurses.

He was born in Malden, Mass., on Feb. 22, 1908, the son of Lester and Bertha (Sanderson) Dow.

In his late teens he became an apprentice for three years under his father, Lester Amer Dow at Irving & Casson’s, where he made fine furniture and also designed and made chairs for the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. He then moved to Milwaukee, Wis., worked in Chicago making wall panels for the Palmolive Building, and then moved back to Malden, Mass.

While living with an aunt and uncle in Livermore, he met Sadie Adelaide Bryant at church. They were married on May 15, 1935, and made their home in Livermore. She preceded him to Heaven in 1981.

They were members of the Beans Corner Baptist Church and also charter members of, and attended faithfully, the Wayside Bible Baptist Church in Livermore, where Lester also served as deacon.

He worked for International Paper Co., Otis Mill in Jay, from 1934 to 1972, retiring after thirty-eight years of service. He still found time to carve out and assemble two beautiful violins, with more in the process of being made.

He loved classical music, studied voice, and as a young man, built crystal set radios, worked with his tractor in gardening and providing firewood for home heat, snow plowing and haying.

He is survived by four children, Lester Sanderson Dow Jr., Rose Ellen (Dow) Hinkley, Marcia Kay Dow and Diana Gwen (Dow) Graydon; sons-in-law; daughters-in-law; many grandchildren; great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson.

He was predeceased by a brother; a son, Carrol David Dow, who passed away in 1982; an infant sister; a half-brother; and two half-sisters.