The Central City Republican-Nonpareil | January 15, 2026

Suzanne “Suzie” (Holz) Lester was born on January 27, 1941, in Central City, to Anna and Otto Henry August Holz. She was raised and educated in Central City and later graduated from Central City High School in 1959.

While in high school, Suzie met the love of her life, Robert “Bob” Lester. As soon as she graduated, she hopped on a train to Prineville, Oregon, where Bob was. The couple married in Prineville on July 24, 1959.

After marriage, Suzie and her husband Bob relocated several times across the country. They lived in Mesa, Arizona, Grand Island, and eventually landed in Vancouver, Washington, where they raised their family. While in Vancouver, Suzie and Bob owned and operated a floorcovering business for over forty years. After becoming empty nesters, they spent several years in Nebraska, and then to Idaho, and finally joined their daughter, Lanna and husband Tim, in North Dakota.

Suzie’s free time was spent camping and gardening, and when she was inside, she could always be found cooking meals for the family and baking outstanding treats (her German Chocolate cake was a family favorite). Some of her fondest memories were camping trips with her family and snowmobiling at Mount St. Helens. She was very caring and compassionate, which led her and Bob to become foster parents for many children. They took them in with open arms and always treated them as if they were their own.

Suzie could be best described as a classy and graceful woman. She cherished her strong Christian faith, which was the foundational point in everything she did. Her loyalty and generosity to others served as a wonderful example to all her family. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

Suzanne is survived by her loving family: husband of sixty-six years, Robert Lester; children, Lanna (Tim) Frantz, Teresa (Kevin) Hadenfeldt, Ben (Caryl) Lester, Kara Hull, and Jennifer (Richard) Lederle; twenty-two grandchildren; twentytwo- plus great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and close friends.

Suzie is now reunited with her siblings, Kenny, Don, Norma, and Virgil.

Thomas Family Funeral Home in Minot, North Dakota is serving the family.