Lester Davidson

He was the loving husband of Jane L. S. Davidson (Smoker) to whom he was married at the Lancaster Church of the Brethren on April 1, 1961, and they shared 49 years together.

Born in Unicoi, Tennessee on August 7, 1939, he was the son of Charles “Pete” Fairfax and Lydia McCoury Davidson.  Except for a few years, he lived in Chester County his entire life.  He is an Isle of Islay native son of the bards for the Lords of the Isles in Scotland.  He is the great-great-great-great grandson of Malcolm McCoury, Deputy Quartermaster General for General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

He was a 1958 graduate of Octorara Area High School and attended Spring Garden Institute and Temple University.  While a teenager he raced motorcycles  and was Pennsylvania’s 1959 motorcycle dirt track champion.

As a foreman in the 1960s he constructed the original industrial buildings on Boot Road, Downingtown, using state of the art forms from Chicago, and all of the foundations in Marchwood, Lionville.  In 1972 he was shop steward for construction of Exton Square Mall.  Other regional projects included Lukens’ electric furnace, Chester’s high rise buildings, Limerick Nuclear Generating Station, and numerous bridges, to name a few.  His interest in local history led him to establish a business in restoration and rehabilitation that specialized in log and masonry houses.  He is credited with saving the Woodward 1826 Drovers Inn in West Bradford.  Concurrently, he was Wallace Township’s Zoning Officer.  Later he did construction inspections for Ambric, Inc.

Lester created the Scottish Heritage Festival at Springton Manor Farm in the 1980s and was an integral part of History Day Camp for the Chester County Parks and Recreation Department and Industrial Heritage Day at Nottingham County Park.  He was Executive Secretary of the Scottish Historic and Research Society of the Delaware Valley.

He was a member of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Coatesville and the Glenmoore Fire Company.  He loved to travel in the United States and Europe to research his ancestral roots.

Lester is survived by his wife, mother and children, daughter, Christina of Glenside, son, Randy and Sharon Davidson of Wagontown, two grandsons, Hunter and Blaise Davidson, a step-grandson, John Rodgers, and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, November 5, 2010 at 10:30 am from the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 107 South 17th Avenue, Coatesville, PA 19320. Family and friends are also invited to attend the viewing on Thursday evening at the church from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm and also Friday morning from 9:00 am to the time of the service. Interment will follow at the Oxford Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the Chester County Historic Preservation Network, P. O. Box 174, West Chester, PA  19381 or the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd at the above address.

Services have been entrusted to the Wilde Funeral Home of Parkesburg.  Online condolences can be posted at www.wildefuneralhome.com