Richard G. Lester, MD (1925–2025): A Friend’s Tribute
Richard (Dick) G. Lester, MD, passed away peacefully in Edmond, Oklahoma, on May 16, 2025. He was 99 years old. Dr. Lester was not only the 1983 RSNA president and 1981 board chair, generous and long-time R&E Foundation Presidents Circle and Legacy Donor, captain in the U.S. Air Force, and distinguished leader in the field of radiology, he was also a dear husband, father, colleague and friend.
In his later years, Dr. Lester helped form a group of retired radiologists in the Oklahoma area where he lived who gathered monthly for coffee and camaraderie. One of the group’s remaining members, Joe C. Leonard, MD, also a longtime RSNA member and Presidents Circle supporter, shared this heartfelt tribute to his friend:
“Approximately ten years ago, I received an invitation to have lunch with a group of retired radiologists and radiation physicists. All of us were from the Oklahoma City area, except for Dick, who had moved here to be near family. Dick always arrived at the restaurant in his white Corvette, Stetson hat and boots. He gave up the car in his early nineties, but he never gave up the hat.
Several weeks after initially meeting him, I learned he had been an RSNA president. My chest examiner at the 1973 oral boards was from Duke and I often accused Dick of being the one who certified me to become a radiologist. Unfortunately, the ABR felt they couldn’t confirm or deny it.
Dick completely enjoyed his time in Japan. His daughter was born there, and at some point he told her that while she could never be the U.S. president, she was eligible to become the Emperess of Japan. He also loved Japanese food and had it regularly with his son after moving to Oklahoma. He frequently mentioned the Asian tradition of counting you as one year old on the day you were born. For me, and I believe for him, he died at 100.5 years, not our reported 99.5 years.
He was proud of his time at Princeton University. He had a large Princeton banner hanging in his office but never mentioned that he had entered it at 15 years of age and graduated from medical school at 22. We also knew he was a respected, distinguished educator, administrator and president of Meharry Medical College. But it was only after his death, that we learned how important that was to him and the College. He was indeed, an extremely humble and unassuming man.
He and I discovered that we both enjoyed and missed a particular Chinese restaurant that closed unexpectantly during street construction around the shopping center where it was located. Approximately 3 years ago, I discovered it had opened in a new location, and from that time until about six weeks before he died, he, Howard G. (Grady) Daniel, MD and I regularly had lunch there.
Without fail, Dick ordered a glass of wine, always leaving at least half. He would get one dinner for lunch and a second dinner to take home. For the past year, that first dinner was rarely anything but steamed oysters. Because of an old adage, he became disappointed that the oysters would not be available from May through August. When we arrived that first Tuesday in May, he was delighted to see them on the menu board (the restaurant would now be getting their oysters from the Northwest during those months). Even though they were smaller, he continued to enjoy them, often offering one to each of us reminding us that the best oyster bar was in Grand Central Station, NYC.
For the past five years I have picked Dick and Grady up weekly for lunch as we were now down to three people. Never did I arrive at his house when he wasn’t working on his computer. It was obvious he was an avid reader from the scope of books stacked everywhere in his office.”
~ Joe (Joe C. Leonard, MD)
Dr. Richard G. Lester’s legacy will live on in the countless lives he touched like Dr. Leonard’s, the students he mentored, the colleagues he inspired, and the future he helped build through his unwavering support of education and research. To read Dr. Lester’s RSNA News obituary click here, or to make an RSNA R&E Foundation memorial gift in his memory, go to login | RSNA.