Lester A. Foss Lester A. Foss died June 4, 2026 in Montesano. He was born February 16, 1936 at Elma, Washington, the first of six children born to Lester A. and Lillian (LaBrec) Foss. After attending schools at Adna, Galvin, and Rochester, Les graduated from Montesano High School in 1953. He married Ruth Mary Smith, daughter of Rolland C. and Hazel M. (Chandler) Smith, August 20, 1956 at the Methodist Church in Montesano. Les delivered newspapers in Rochester and Montesano, and worked as a janitor at the courthouse in Montesano, before beginning to work in the service station at Whitney’s Chevrolet/Oldsmobile in 1951. Three years later, he left for greener pastures, but returned to Whitney’s in April 1956 to begin his career of selling new and used cars. After flirting with a job selling life insurance for a few months in 1960 and 1961, he returned to Whitney’s. Selling life insurance, he said, was hard work. Selling cars was fun. He became the sales manager at Whitney’s in 1968, and a partner in the firm in 1981. In 1996, having worked six days a week for forty-two years, he sold his half of Whitney’s to his partner and retired. Les and Ruthie (no one ever called her Ruth) enjoyed traveling long distances in their modified vintage cars, seeing sights (and sites) they had never seen and visiting cemeteries where their ancestors were buried. They drove their 1941 Chevy coupe through thirty-nine states and six Canadian provinces, and their 1949 Chevy pickup across forty-two states. They particularly enjoyed shunpiking, shunning the turnpikes (freeways) for the older two-lane roads. Les was a life-long member of the Methodist church. He was also a member of several vintage car clubs and the Chehalis Valley Historical Society, where he had served as president and vice-president several times, and where he and Ruthie were frequent docents. He was also a life member of the Aberdeen Elks Lodge, where he served as trustee for five years and was honored as Elk of the Year in 2001 and the Officer of the Year in 2007. Les enjoyed being a volunteer in the kitchen at the Elks Lodge for many years before he was asked to be a trustee, and as an avid participant in the Saturday night karaoke sessions in the lounge there, where his whiskey baritone could usually be heard caressing songs made famous by Johnny Cash, Mac Davis, Johnny Mathis, and even Bette Midler and Olivia Newton-John. He was an avid reader, and particularly enjoyed reading about history. He was also a dedicated genealogist, and always enjoyed sharing family history with his siblings, his children and his grandchildren.In 2021, Les and Ruthie moved from their longtime home in Montesano to Channel Point Village in Hoquiam, where they spent their time with many good friends. He is survived by his wife of nearly seventy years, Ruthie; his children, Debra (Donovan) Harders of Hoquiam, David (Pamela) Foss of Montesano, and Brenda Millich of Montesano; his granddaughters, Sterling Harders and daughter Lindy, Joy (Pete) Muller, Megan (Andy) Marzano and children Zero, Rosie and Lucy, Aisa Goodwin (Jacob Peak), Asia Hendricks and children Brec, River and Lester, MacKenzie (Jason) Granstaff and children Debron, Daniel and William, and Sage Millich.Also surviving is his brother Larry (Janice) Foss of Montesano. Les was preceded in death by his brothers Leigh “Terry” Foss, Lanny Foss, and LeRoy Foss and his sister Lin LaTrajet.