Lester E. "Tosie" Wawner

Lester E. “Tosie” Wawner, 100, of Colonial Heights, passed away Wednesday, May 26, 2021. He was born in Petersburg, VA, and was the son of the late Frank F. Wawner and Alice Lufsey Wawner. He is survived by his loving wife of 73 years, Sophie Kreicar Wawner of Colonial Heights; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Donna Wawner DeLozier of Chesterfield, VA. He was retired from the Defense General Supply Center where he worked in the Directorate of Technical Operations as Supervisory Equipment Specialist.
Earlier in life he spent a year in Civilian Conservation Corp (C.C.C) in 1938 – 1939 in camps on the Skyline Drive and Clifton Forge, VA. He was a Navy veteran of WWII with six years of service from November 1939 to December 1945, where he was awarded ten battle stars for action in the South Pacific. His ship was in the battle group with the first five U.S. aircraft carriers sunk early in the war, the U.S.S. Lexington, the U.S.S. Yorktown, the U.S.S. Wasp, the U.S.S. Hornet, and the U.S.S. Liscomb Bay. Mr. Wawner was decorated with the Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal with the bronze letter “A” (for North Atlantic patrol and convoy duty prior to Pearl Harbor), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, with two silver stars (each silver star replaces five bronze campaign stars), European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and the Navy Occupation Service Medal with the Asia Clasp (Japan occupation). Prior to this country’s entry into WWII, he had the distinction of being assigned to berthing duty aboard the U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides) in Boston, in the Fall of 1941 while his ship was being modified for anti-submarine duty in the treacherous North Atlantic and Iceland area where three other U.S. destroyers were sunk by German submarines prior to Pearl Harbor. He served on a destroyer, an aircraft carrier, and a mine sweeper. His last rating was Motor Machinist Mate First Class.
He was a life member of American Legion Post 2 in Petersburg, member of the Coral Sea Association, the U.S.S. Morris (DD 417) Veterans Association, the Naval Mine Warfare Association, and a charter member of the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. An avid hunter and fisherman, he was a life member of the National Wildlife Federation, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, the National Rifle Association, the Second Amendment Foundation, and the NRA Institute for Legislation Action. He was a member of the Centennial Road Hunt Club in Prince George County, and honorary member of the Southwark Hunt Club in Surry County. He was past president of the former Petersburg Rifle Club, and past member of the Board of Directors of the Virginia State Rifle and Revolver Association. He held a private airplane license for both land and seaplane, and was a member of the Popular Rotorcraft Association. He was retired from the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary in May 1991. He first became a member of this group as a member of Flotilla 51 (now Flo. 31) on April 23, 1954 in Richmond.
The family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1, 2021 at the Petersburg Chapel of J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home. A graveside service will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at Blandford Cemetery. Condolences may be registered at www.jtmorriss.com .