Lester Bruce Stoner, 87, of Charleston, passed away peacefully on August 4, 2026, surrounded by his family after a brief illness.

Family and friends are invited to attend a public Mass, during which Lester will be remembered, at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 6, 2026, at the Newman Catholic Center in Charleston, Illinois. Graveside services and burial will follow at Roselawn Cemetery in Charleston, Illinois at 11:30am. In lieu of gifts, donations may be made to Eastern Illinois University in the name of Richard Wise-Lester Stoner Undergraduate Scholarship in Geography. Your generosity is sincerely appreciated.

Lester was born on February 8, 1939 in Charleston, IL, the son of Carter and Sarah (Jones) Stoner. He attended Buzzard Laboratory School for elementary and graduated from Charleston High School in 1957 where he was a multiple varsity athlete excelling in football.

Following high school, he enlisted in the United States Army National Guard and was discharged honorably following his service. He then pursued an Associate’s degree from Lakeland College in Mattoon, Illinois where he studied Geology and Geography and was instrumental in the development of college-level course work and textbooks on the Hawaiian Islands archipelago. He later received a Bachelor’s of Science from Eastern Illinois University and was a member of Phi Theta Kappa.

Lester was not only a dedicated faculty member of the Geology and Geography Department at Eastern Illinois University but also a carpenter and architect who built homes and later developed the Stoner Estates subdivision in southeast Charleston.

He was also an avid gardener, painter and artist, skilled woodworker, and a freelance independent cartographer.

Surviving are his wife, Elizabeth; children: Yvonne Stoner of Mattoon, IL, Elizabeth (Deverick) Lampley of Huntington Beach, CA, Sarah Keel of Moweaqua, IL, Franklin (Jodi) Stoner of Clark, MO, Lester (Carrie) Stoner II of Calais, VT, and Delia (Matthew) Jackson of Moweaqua, IL; twelve grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his father Carter Stoner, mother Sarah (Jones) Stoner, his son, Gregory, and his daughter, Melissa, along with his 11 siblings: Ruth, Helen, Eula, Darlene, Dorothy, Emma, Eleanor, Leland, Richard, Rene, and John.

Memorial gifts in his memory can be made two ways:

Send a check: Made payable to the EIU Foundation

EIU Foundation
860 W. Lincoln Ave.
Charleston, IL 61920
Please note on the memo: In memory of Lester Stoner
Please apply to the Richard Wise - Lester Stoner Scholarship in Geography

Or on-line

https://www.eiu.edu/giving.php
From the drop list under Please select or enter a gift amount scroll down to Other Gifts (it's about the 15th one down in the list)
In the special instructions box list the scholarship name Richard Wise - Lester Stoner Scholarship in Geography