On June 3, 1925 Lester married Lila Ella Viets at St Matthew Lutheran Church. Lila's twin sister, Lela, was married to Lester's cousin, Edwin "Pete" Heiden. Lester and Lila had three children, Robert William, Dale Arthur and Donna Mae (Sedelbauer) Burge.

Lester was employed by River Raisin Paper Co. in Monroe from 1925 to 1942 and the Willow Run Bomber Plant in Willow Run, Michigan during the war yeas from 1942 until 1944. He then turned to farming at the family farm on South Custer Road until he retired in 1966.

He was a member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and was on the church council. Lester served on the board of the Ida Farmer's Co-Op and was also a member of the board of the Monroe County Farm Bureau.

Lila was an active member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and was a former president of its Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church group. She also had served on the building committee when Prince of Peace was constructed in 1964. Her volunteer activities included work with the Monroe Hospital Auxiliary Guild and the Monroe County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

In their retirement years, Lester and Lila lived in Florida during the winter months. Lester died on Tuesday, August 11, 1992 at the age of 87 in Mercy Memorial Hospital in Monroe.

Lila preceded him in death having passed away on Thursday, October 19, 1989 at the age of 83. At the time of her death, Lila was a resident at the Beach Nursing Home in Monroe. Lester and Lila are buried at Roselawn Memorial Park in LaSalle, Michigan.

Lela and Lila were born into the Frank McIlrath family but were adopted and raised by the Viets family. Their biological siblings included William McIlrath, Marie (McIlrath) Kanavel and Isabelle (McIlrath) Meyer. Click here for a photo.

The name is spelled Mcilrath with the i capitalized so it looks like a double ll depending on the font.