Tributes

Our loving father, Opa (grandfather), great grandfather, and hero Edwin Gerard Lenfestey, Jr. passed away on May 24, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas. He was born on December 22, 1933 in Detroit, Michigan to Edwin G. Lenfestey, Sr. and Florence M. (Sipes) Lenfestey. He was preceded in death by the love of his life, Rita and infant son Richard (Ricky). Ed is survived by his sons, Russ and Kenny (Diana) Lenfestey; grandson, Carson (Cailyn) Lenfestey; granddaughter, Carina Cortner; and great-grandsons, Caison and Caden Lenfestey. Youngest great-grandson Caden carries the middle name Edwin, proudly honoring his great-grandfather. Ed was the oldest of 5 siblings, the late Tom (the late LuAnn) Lenfestey, the late LuAnne (Jerry) Waldecker, the late Ken (Linda) Lenfestey, and Kate (John) Vincent. Ed was raised in Livonia, Michigan and joined the U.S. Navy in 1952, serving aboard the USS Sea Owl as an Electronics Technician in the Atlantic Ocean during the Korean War. He met his future beloved wife Rita at a USO dance while on shore leave in New York City. A bad premonition she had saved his life when he returned home on a different ship than assigned. The original ship, USS Bennington, had an explosion on board that would have killed him. Instead, they were married February 19, 1956, and were happily married for 65 years. They moved to Tulsa in 1958 where they raised their sons. Ed would spend almost 30 years working for American Airlines, leading the team responsible for sourcing all electrical components for the company’s aircraft fleet. Ed and Rita were longtime members of Asbury United Methodist Church, singing in the choir and serving in the children’s ministry. They enjoyed many dances, concerts, and events at the German-American Society of Tulsa. Ed loved serving others, raising his family, camping, boating, fixing just about anything, and traveling to several countries and all over the US. They lived in Tulsa until moving to San Antonio, Texas in November 2020, to live with their family. SERVICES Visitation will be held on Monday, June 9, 2025 from 5:00pm-8:00pm at Mission Park Funeral Chapels North. Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 12:30pm at the funeral home chapel, with interment to follow at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery, with Navy honors. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the German-American Society of Tulsa (https://gastulsa.org/support/), an organization that Ed and Rita loved being a part of. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/mf-fwp/private/service_20250610.html&source=gmail-imap&ust=1749589022000000&usg=AOvVaw38RhPk2b6pbdg_kTENbi9N https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/EDWINGERARDLENFESTEYJR/a9bce4 For personal acknowledgement, please sign the online guestbook at www.missionparks.com in the Tributes section. MISSION PARK FUNERAL CHAPELS NORTH 3401 CHERRY RIDGE DR. SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78230 (210) 349-1414

Tributes

Edwin Gerard Lenfestey Jr.

December 22, 1933 - May 24, 2025