Chaplain's Corner
Dr. Ron Lester
Dr. Ron Lester was born and raised in southern Oklahoma. He proudly served in the U.S. Air Force from 1964 to 1968, spending one year in Vietnam. He is a disabled veteran with retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary eye disease resulting in total blindness. Despite this challenge, Dr. Lester earned a bachelor’s degree in business, a master’s degree in elementary education, and a doctoral degree in educational administration. He has trained with concentrations in
pastoral administration and financial counseling.
Dr. Lester is an ordained minister and a member of the National Fellowship of Chaplains. He currently serves as chaplain for the Disabled American Veterans National Blind Chapter No. 1 and the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) nationally, providing updates for the Chaplain’s Corner of the DAV newsletter, composing the Chaplain’s Corner for the BVA Bulletin, personally contacting veterans who are ill, and checking in on other veterans who need encouragement. He served four years as a volunteer service officer with BVA,
assisting veterans with filing disability claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Dr. Lester hosts an online radio program, Special Needs Watch, on bpnradio.com each Thursday, during which he interviews special guests from throughout the United States. He also shares a Sunday sermon each week on the same network. Prior to moving to Tucson in 2006, Dr. Lester was pastor and overseer of a church and Christian school in Gardena, California. He has more than 45 years of combined experience in pastoring churches, establishing bus ministry and Christian education programs, and acting as principal and administrator in successful Christian schools. He has ministered in the pulpit and assisted with church building in Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Philippines, and Mexico.
Dr. Lester is the author of two books about his life and experience losing his vision. The first, I’m Blind: What’s Your Excuse, was published in May 2014 (ISBN10: 1629525634). The second, The Day the Lights Went Out, was published in January 2015 (ISBN-10: 1498422780). Both books were published by Xulon Press and are available on Amazon. Dr. Lester is currently working on his next book about what it means to have grit when facing life’s challenges.
Dr. Lester has been married to his wife, Betty, for more than 50 years. He is the proud father of two sons and grandfather of eight. He enjoys tandem biking with his son, Rob. The two of them are together restoring a 1965 Ford Mustang.