Clifford Lester

Clifford W. Lester, 60 of Spring, Texas passed away, Sunday, January 30, 2022 from a stroke. He leaves his daughter, Drucilla Lester; former wife, Leah Lester; step-father, Freddie Rogers; sister, Dedra (David) Harcrow; brother Gary Lester (Misty), aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. Cliff was born and raised in Camden, Arkansas. He was the son of Johnnie and Jeanell Harper Lester, who both preceded him in death along with a brother, Barry Lester. He was an adventurous child, whose life included a few fires, minor explosions, hunting, fishing, and jumps from the roof. He graduated from Camden High School in 1980, Cliff attended Southern Arkansas University Tech in Camden and Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. He worked summers for an Arkansas Highway Department, road crew. At SAU, he joined the fraternity, Phi Lambda Chi. He graduated with an Electrical Engineering Technology and Chemistry major. His work years in South Arkansas included Amercable, Ensco PSC, and International Paper. In 1992, he started his Master of Science in Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After graduation, he moved to the Houston area where his career in Industrial Hygiene and Safety began. His career included positions with Ethyl Corporation, Huntsman Corporation, Citgo Petroleum, Univar Solutions, and Nexeo Solutions. In 2020, Cliff was given the opportunity to be part of Buckeye Partners as Program Manager of Industrial Hygiene. Cliff enjoyed being part of the culture at Buckeye. He found a balance between home and work. He relaxed and found more time to spend with his daughter as he worked at home during the COVID shutdown. They walked 5 miles as many days a week as they could. He was part of her college career as she decided to major in Public Health like her father. At an early age, he experimented with chemical reactions building knowledge that would lead him to his 25 plus years of experience in the petrochemical, refining, and manufacturing industry as a top performing executive. He was a dynamic, self-motivated, team player, and leader with an unparalleled work ethic. He was the band parent and swim team dad ready to use his EMT skills. He embraced his roll as Zacchaeus in Bible school with that team attitude. He was highly organized and detail oriented, with proven strengths in prioritizing and managing day-to-day activities and special projects. This might be questioned if it was a project for his home but camp-out planning was his specialty. He was a strong relationship builder, at work he was highly capable of partnering with employees, contractors, vendors and administration. He saw value in everyone that knew something he didn’t or that wanted to learn from him. His personal relationships included people from all walks of life with interests in a variety of things. He had proven abilities in interpreting regulations and developing effective and efficient solutions to operating and compliance issues. He was always willing to help friends and neighbors using these same skills, however duct tape and bailing wire might be used in non-government compliance. Cliff’s final act of kindness was to give the gift of life through organ and tissue donation. The family requests donations in Cliff’s memory be direct to LifeGift – Southeast Region, 2510 Westridge Street, Houston, Texas 77054 or https://www.lifegift.org/make-a-contribution/