Lester Mahlstedt Jr.

May 12, 1955 ~ July 29, 2023
Lester E. Mahlstedt Jr. age 68 of Ionia, IA died Saturday, July 29, 2023 at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, MN.
A funeral service for family and close friends will be held 10:30 a.m. Monday, August 7, 2023 at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton with Rev. Scott Smith presiding.
Friends may greet the family from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 6, 2023 at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton
Lester Ernest Mahlstedt, born on May 12, 1955, in Waverly, Iowa. He was the son of Lester Mahlstedt Sr. and Marian Mellmann and spent his formative years in Fredericksburg, IA, where he attended school and graduated from Fredericksburg High School in 1973.
During his school days, Lester was an active individual who excelled in sports, particularly basketball. He also showed a keen interest in agriculture and was deeply involved in the FFA. He spent many of his younger years assisting his family on the farm, notably helping his father on the milk route. It was during this time that he began to develop a fondness for working on cars, attending auto mechanic schooling, which ultimately ignited a lifelong passion.
In pursuit of his dreams, Lester took a bold step and became the proud owner of a gas station in Lawler, where he worked diligently and fearlessly rode his motorcycle to work even in the harsh winters to save a few bucks on gas. Later on, he joined the Department of Transportation (DOT) as a mechanic in Waukon and subsequently transferred to Charles City, where he continued to contribute his skills until his well-earned retirement in 2019.
However, Lester's true love was found on the racetracks. He had a burning passion for anything with an engine, and this love drove him to participate in drag races in Waterloo and race numerous laps at local dirt tracks in Cresco, West Union, and Decorah, where his favorite track resided. For Lester, racing was not only about the thrill but also the sense of competition it brought, proving his worth as a driver without solely relying on extravagant investments in his car.
Throughout his life, Lester's love for racing extended to his children, whom he cherished deeply. He had four children and five grandchildren, and some of their most cherished memories together revolved around the race track. His endearing habit of teasing his sons while they raced with his famous line, "cars fine, must be the driver," will forever be etched in their hearts. Lester was a devoted and affectionate man who treasured his time with family above all else.
Lester Ernest Mahlstedt leaves behind a profound impact on all who had the privilege of knowing him. His passion for cars and racing, his unwavering love for his family, and his willingness to help others will forever be remembered.
Lester is survived by two daughters, Lisa (Joel) Miller of Derby, KS, Sheree (Dana) Meihost of Ionia; two sons, Zac Mahlstedt of Alta Vista, Brian (Kayla) Mahlstedt of Tripoli; five grandchildren; one brother, Larry (Kevin Spire) Mahlstedt of Des Moines; four sisters, Elinor (Stu) Ferguson of Woodland Park, CO, Linda (Ken) Mulholland of Savannah, IL, Deloris (Steve) Ryan of LeGrand, IA, Betty (Bruce) Lampe of Ionia.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Mary Jane Mahlstedt in infancy.
So sad! Our sympathy to his family and friends!
So sorry to hear of Lester’s passingly deepest sympathy to the family.
🙏 to the family.
Sad news…..sympathies to all
so very sorry for the family’s loss love to all
Sad to hear this sympathy to you all
So sorry for your loss, prayers to you all 🙏🏻💞🙏🏻
Rest easy old friend, it was one hell of a ride..
so sorry for the family loss sending prayers🙏
Condolences to the family
My thoughts and prayers are with you all❤️
So sorry for your loss
My deepest sympathy to the family.
Prayers to the family! Enjoyed talking to him at races!
My prayers are with the family
Sorry for the family loss sending prayers 🙏
So sorry for your loss, sympathy to the family.
So sorry for your loss 🙏🙏
So sorry for your family’s loss. 🙏
So sorry guys, sending lots of love
So sorry for your loss, thoughts and prayers for his family 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Sorry for your loss
Very sorry for the family’s loss, deepest sympathies to all.
Thoughts and Prayers to the family 💕
Sending lots of 💕 love, hugs 🤗 and prayers 🙏 to the entire family! Sincere sympathies to the entire family!
Sorry for your loss hugs to all your family.
Sorry for your loss. So glad to have visited with him at our class reunion this summer. Thoughts and prayers for all his family and friends 🙏
OMG So very sorry 😢😢😢💔💔💔
So sorry to hear of your loss.
So sorry for your loss and sorry to hear about this. Hugs and prayers to you all.
So sorry for your loss
We are sorry for your loss
So sorry for your loss. Dena and Zac Palmer
My condolences sorry for your loss!
So sorry. Deepest sympathy to the family
Sorry for your loss🙏
So sorry to hear about Lester my condolences to the family
Condolences to the family
Deepest symathy to the family. God bless.
Deepest sympathy to the family and prayers at this sad time
Sorry for the family’s loss
So sorry for your loss
So very sorry for your family’s loss. Lester was just showing Tim and I all his racing trophies in the garage last week. He was a nice neighbor and we’ll miss chatting with him.
Sending my sympathy to all his family and friends.
So sorry for your loss. Prayers for the family 🙏
Thoughts and prayers 🙏🏻 for comfort.
Sending thoughts and prayers to Lester’s Family ❤️
So sorry for your loss! Sending thoughts and prayers!!
So sorry for your loss.
RIP, One of the best friends a guy could have ever asked for!
PRAYING FOR LESTER’S FAMILY AND FRIENDS HE WAS A GREAT MAN AMEN
Sympathy to all at this sad time. Hold dear all the fun times.
HE WAS A GREAT MAN HE WILL BE MISSED BY SO MANY OF US THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AMEN
Prayers for your family. So sorry to hear about his passing.
So sorry for your loss.
So sorry for your loss, condolences to the family.
Our deepest sympathy to the family
I will miss seeing him drive by every day and on the his corner
Our deepest sympathy to Lester’s family. What A great guy.
Our sympathy !! Sorry for your loss
Prayers for comfort for all of the family.
Sympathy to Lester’s families !
Prayers for the families 🙏🙏🙏
Deepest sympathy. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Deepest sympathy to his family.
Deepest sympathy to his family!🙏🏻🙏🏻
Sending our Deepest sympathy
Our sincerest sympathy to Lester’s family
Sorry for your loss
So sorry for your loss
So sorry for your family’s loss. He was a nice guy.
Our deepest sympathy to the families 🙏 Prayers
My condolences to the families
So sorry for your loss❤️
My sympathies to his family
Sorry for your loss
Thoughts and prayers to his family.
Sending hugs
Sympathies to the family
Sorry to hear of Lester’s passing. His sister Betty & I grew up together as kids. My family lived across the road from where Betty and Bruce live now. Many good memories of all the Mahlstedt kids RIP Lester (Junior). Prayers for the family.
So sorry for your loss 🙏🙏
Prayers sent to the family!
Sorry for your loss. Hugs and prayers for the family.
Our sympathies to Lester’s family.
So Sorry for your loss
Rest In Peace LESTER
Prayers 🙏🙏
My thoughts and prayers are with you all❤️
Sorry for the family’s loss. Sending prayers for the family 🙏🙏🙏
Sending our deepest sympathies !!
Condolences to all.
Sorry for your loss, rest in peace Lester.
So sorry to hear of Lester’s passing. Condolences to the family.
Will miss seeing him on his nightly ride thru town. Sympathies to the family!
Sorry for your loss.
🙏🙏
My deepest sympathy to the family. Cathy
Deepest sympathies to Lester’s family and friends.
Sympathies and prayers to all
So sorry for your loss
SO sorry to hear of this !! 😭
Lester was one of the good ole boys !
ALWAYS there to help or chat when needed !!
He will definitely be missed by many people ! 😢
Sheree, Brian and Zac sorry to hear of your loss. My sympathies.
Our Sympathy and Prayers for this Family!
I treasure all the memories of the Easter egg hunting we did as kids. Trying to catch that rabbit as he was laying the eggs!l lol
All of us cousins had some great Easter’s.
Jerry Horne
Sympathies to Lester’s family & friends.
If there are race cars in Heaven Gary & him are going at it : ) Spent many days/nights working on cars, at Mom & Dad’s as a kid, with him working with Gary & Alan.
Our sympathies Lester Mahlstedt’s family
Lester was one of the nicest person i have known. Always in a good mood and easy to talk to. Lester was one of my long time customers but i regarded him more of a friend than a customer. We would spend as much time talking about family as we did about engines or racing. I will miss him greatly. Tom Kirchhoff / Performance Auto
I will miss driving down East Prairie Street and waving at Les sitting in his garage. He was real nice to visit with and always wore a smile.
So sorry for his family’s loss. Rest in peace Lester.
Our sympathy to the entire Mahlstedt family. Lester was always a great guy to visit with when he came into the drugstore. May he rest in peace.
Brian and family sorry for your loss. Lester was a good fella, we often visisted when he delivered cars….Glad I got to know!!
Deepest Condolences to family and friends!
RIP Lester sending our sympathies to all of your family 🫂🙏
Rest in peace, Lester.