Gurney Genealogy Library Updated 29 May 2026 by Allen Gurney

Lester Hayes Gurney (1945–2025)

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Indiana power engineer, third-generation engineer, Master Mason, Kiwanian, and lifelong Presbyterian.

Born
16 November 1945, New York City, New York. Son of Lester Sawyer Gurney III (G3) and Edith Walberg. 1
Died
16 December 2025, The Towne House Retirement Community, Fort Wayne, Indiana, age 80. 2
Education
B.S. Electrical Engineering, Valparaiso University. 3
Occupation
Career power engineer at Indiana & Michigan Electric Company (later AEP) — the third generation of the family in power-related engineering. Member, IEEE, more than fifty years. 4
Religion
Presbyterian. Long-time member, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Marion, Indiana; later member, First Presbyterian Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana. 5
Marriage(s)
Dana Ault — married 22 June 1968, Fulton, Indiana. They met as students at Valparaiso University. Dana predeceased Les. 7

Highlights

  • Third-generation power engineer. Les spent his entire career at Indiana & Michigan Electric Company (later absorbed into American Electric Power, AEP). He was a "third-generation power engineer"- a striking continuity of profession across three Gurney generations. He is remembered for "his steady service and good humor." 4
  • Five-generation Masonic line — from a Civil War general's New York lodge to an Indiana utility engineer's. The obituary describes Les as part of "a five-generation family tradition in Freemasonry": Master Mason of McCulloch Lodge No. 737 (Marion, IN), with Scottish Rite and Salaam Shriners affiliations. The thread runs back through G5 Lester Sawyer Gurney (master of Continental Lodge No. 287, NY) to G6 Brig. Gen. William Gurney, remembered in lodge history as the "Father" of that same New York lodge. 8
  • A long civic life in Marion, Indiana. Twenty-five years in the Kiwanis Club (including service as Secretary), volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, and Treasurer of Boy Scouts of America Troop 433 in Marion. 9
  • Met his wife at college; remained married fifty-seven years. Les and Dana Ault met as students at Valparaiso University and married 22 June 1968 in Fulton, Indiana. Dana predeceased him. 7
  • The end of the family's New York chapter. Born in New York City in 1945, Les is the last of the direct line to be born in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area where the family had lived continuously since Willis Gurney (G7) arrived in Flushing, Queens in the early nineteenth century. The line then moved decisively into Indiana through Les's adult life and Allen's birth in Marion. 1

Children

Name Dates Mother Notes
Allen Lawrence GurneyLivingDana AultG1 in direct line. Of Portland, Oregon. Married Beth Levy. 10
Kenneth Gurney1974–2013Dana AultPredeceased Les. Last residence Dexter, Michigan. 10

Narrative

Lester Hayes Gurney's life recapitulates the geographic and professional arc of the twentieth-century Gurneys: born in New York City to a family whose roots in the New York area went back to Willis Gurney's arrival in Flushing in the early 1800s, but raised, married, and made his career in Indiana — first in Marion and finally in Fort Wayne. His father, Lester Sawyer Gurney III (G3), and grandfather, Lester Sawyer Gurney Jr. (G4), were the previous two generations of the family in power/civil engineering, and Les became the third when he completed his electrical-engineering degree at Valparaiso University and joined Indiana and Michigan Electric Company.

He met Dana Ault at Valparaiso, married her on 22 June 1968 at Fulton, Indiana, and the two of them built a family and a long life together in Marion. The Masonic identity places him in a remarkable lineal continuity: he was a Master Mason of McCulloch Lodge No. 737 in Marion, with affiliations at the Scottish Rite and Salaam Shriners, and his obituary describes this as "a five-generation family tradition in Freemasonry." That same craft connection runs back through G5 Lester Sawyer Gurney (master of Continental Lodge No. 287 in New York) to G6 Brigadier General William Gurney, who is remembered in lodge history as the "Father" of Continental Lodge No. 287. The thread from a New York Civil War general's lodge to a 21st-century Indiana power engineer's lodge is one of the family's most durable continuities.

His civic and faith life were deeply rooted. He was a Kiwanis Club member for twenty-five years and served as Secretary; he volunteered with Habitat for Humanity; he served as Treasurer for Boy Scouts of America Troop 433 in Marion; and his obituary notes his more than fifty-year membership in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He was for many years a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Marion, and at the time of his death a member of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Wayne. Dana predeceased him, as did his younger son Kenneth. Les was survived by his elder son Allen Gurney and Allen's wife Beth Levy of Portland, Oregon; by their children — his grandchildren Ebba and Soren Gurney of Ann Arbor, Michigan; by his brother-in-law Carl Ault and sister-in-law Rita Ault of Rochester, Indiana; and by several nieces, nephews, and their children.

Citations

  1. "Lester Hayes Gurney Obituary," FairHaven Funeral Home and Cremation Services (Fort Wayne, Indiana), https://www.fairhavenfortwayne.com/obituaries/lester-gurney, accessed 25 April 2026 (born 16 November 1945 in New York City; parents Lester Sawyer Gurney III and Edith Walberg). Source ID: fairhaven-lester-obituary. ↩
  2. "Lester Hayes Gurney Obituary," FairHaven Funeral Home (death 16 December 2025, age 80, at The Towne House Retirement Community, Fort Wayne, Indiana). Source ID: fairhaven-lester-obituary. ↩
  3. "Lester Hayes Gurney Obituary," FairHaven Funeral Home (B.S. Electrical Engineering, Valparaiso University). Source ID: fairhaven-lester-obituary. ↩
  4. "Lester Hayes Gurney Obituary," FairHaven Funeral Home (entire career as a third-generation power engineer at Indiana & Michigan Electric Company, later AEP; "known for his steady service and good humor"; IEEE member more than fifty years). Source ID: fairhaven-lester-obituary. ↩
  5. "Lester Hayes Gurney Obituary," FairHaven Funeral Home (longtime Westminster Presbyterian Church, Marion, IN; First Presbyterian Church, Fort Wayne, IN, at the time of his death). Source ID: fairhaven-lester-obituary. ↩
  6. "Lester Hayes Gurney Obituary," FairHaven Funeral Home (Celebration of Life 17 January 2026, 2:00 PM, The Towne House Retirement Community Chapel, 2209 Saint Joe Center Road, Fort Wayne, IN; memorials to the Parkinson's Foundation). Source ID: fairhaven-lester-obituary. ↩
  7. "Lester Hayes Gurney Obituary," FairHaven Funeral Home (married Dana Ault on 22 June 1968, Fulton, Indiana; met at Valparaiso University; Dana predeceased him). Source ID: fairhaven-lester-obituary. ↩
  8. "Lester Hayes Gurney Obituary," FairHaven Funeral Home (Master Mason and longtime member of McCulloch Lodge No. 737 in Marion, Indiana; Scottish Rite; Salaam Shriners; "five-generation family tradition in Freemasonry"). For G5 and G6 Masonic context, see Lester Sawyer Gurney (G5) and Brigadier General William Gurney (G6) in the Gurney Genealogy Library. Source ID: fairhaven-lester-obituary. ↩
  9. "Lester Hayes Gurney Obituary," FairHaven Funeral Home (Kiwanis Club, 25 years, including Secretary; Habitat for Humanity; Boy Scouts of America Troop 433, Marion, Indiana, Treasurer). Source ID: fairhaven-lester-obituary. ↩
  10. "Lester Hayes Gurney Obituary," FairHaven Funeral Home (survivors: son Allen Gurney of Portland, OR; daughter-in-law Beth Levy of Portland, OR; grandchildren Ebba and Soren Gurney of Ann Arbor, MI; brother-in-law Carl Ault of Rochester, IN; sister-in-law Rita Ault of Rochester, IN. Predeceased: wife Dana Gurney, son Kenneth Gurney). Kenneth's dates from data/ancestors v26.json G1 collateral entry (Ken Gurney, 1974–2013, Dexter, MI). Source ID: fairhaven-lester-obituary. ↩