Ira Eli Chester

Ira Eli Chester was born on October 3rd, 1934, in Brooklyn, NY, to Harry Chester and Ella Abramowitz, a pair of first-generation Americans. Ira grew up in Brooklyn where he graduated from Erasmus Hall H.S.; where he met his wife to be, Judith Fader, in 1955; and where he learned to love baseball-- specifically Brooklyn Dodgers baseball and where he would later swear off Major League Baseball for the rest of his life when the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Ira and Judith were married in June of 1957 and remained married for68 years. They moved to Tallahassee in 1958 to buy and operate a window washing business, Perfect Cleaning Company that, in about 15 years, branched out and grew from two employees (Ira and his brother Fred) to around 200. Ira and Judith had their first child, Karen, in 1959, and David, their second child, in 1962, both at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Ira was very active in the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, where hewas a board member and twice received their Man of the Year honor. It was through the Chamber of Commerce that he came to know seemingly everyone in town. Ira used his connections to secure donations of everything from carpet to freezers for the FSU football team’s field house and training room, before Bobby Bowden arrived and FSU football became big business. Ira came to know all the coaches and even went into business with the linebackers coach, opening Chester’s Sandwich Inn with him in the late 60s. Ira worked as Bureau Chief of General Services for the Florida Department of State until he retired. He was Past Master of the J. Edwin Larson Masonic Lodge, where, at various times, he held every office from secretary to worshipful master. He was an active committee member at the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Florida and he was similarly active as a member of the Marzuq Shrine Temple, spending much time raising money for their children’s hospitals. At the time of his passing, he was the oldest living Mason in Florida. If you knew Ira a little or a lot, you likely knew everything about who he was: a man who wore his heart on his sleeve; a man you could count on to help you out at a moment’s notice; a man who absolutely loved to laugh; and a man with an opinion on everything, which he was happy to share with anyone within earshot. Ira is survived by his wife, Judith, his two children, Karen and David, and his grandson, Sam. He will be missed. Dayne Parker of Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193 or www.bevisfh.com) is assisting the Chester family with their arrangements.

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Ira Eli Chester

October 3, 1934 - March 3, 2025