Wesley E. Hester, Sr.
Wesley E. Hester Sr.

Wesley Eugene Hester Sr.— who managed the former Berkeley Hester Day Care and served on the Berkeley Police Review Commission and the Berkeley City Council among his many public roles — passed away peacefully in San Leandro on April 26, 2014, at the age of 90.

Hester, an avid Cal Bears basketball fan and recreational tennis player, was a champion of Berkeley’s underserved community and he served both the Berkeley and Oakland communities by immersing himself in a variety of civic activities and public offices.

Among his many achievements, Hester was one of the founding members of the Berkeley San Pablo Tennis Club, initially formed to accommodate Bay Area African American tennis enthusiasts who were segregated from other local tennis clubs; and he helped establish Berkeley’s city wide recycling program, one of the first in the country.

Read Wesley Eugene Hester’s full obituary, provided by his daughter, Kathy Hester, in our Obituaries section, where you can leave your messages of condolence.

Berkeleyside is always honored to publish, at no cost, obituaries of members of the Berkeley community. Please email text and photo(s) to editors@berkeleyside.com.

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