Gurney Genealogy Library Updated 29 May 2026 by Allen Gurney

Lester Sawyer Gurney III (1923-2011)

View research notes

Wellesley Hills-born power engineer, wartime lieutenant, and father of Lester Hayes Gurney.

Born
10 June 1923, Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts. 1
Died
19 December 2011. 2
Education / Military
Norwich University class of 1945 before wartime service; lieutenant, commissioned June or July 1944, with family notes placing him in the Air Service Command at Robins Field, Georgia, and later at Manila with the 536th Signal Heavy Construction Company. 3
Occupation
Power engineer, remembered in family evidence for a long McGraw Edison career in New Jersey. 4
Marriage(s)
Edith Walberg Scott - married 23 November 1942, New York City. 5
Dorothy Lillian Haben/Haden - married 6 June 1965; surname uncertain in the handwritten note. 6

Highlights

  • The wartime service clue is more specific than the older family reading. Dana Gurney's notes identify him as a lieutenant, commissioned in June or July 1944, serving with the Air Service Command at Robins Field, Georgia, when he married Edith, and later stationed at Manila with the 536th Signal Heavy Construction Company when his son Les was born. 3
  • His marriage to Edith belongs in New York City in 1942. The family notes give the date as 23 November 1942, correcting the earlier ambiguous "11-42/43" reading. 5
  • He was absent overseas at the birth of G2. Lester Hayes Gurney was born 16 November 1945 at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City while G3 was stationed at Manila. 7
  • The engineering line runs through him. Family evidence remembers G3 as a McGraw Edison power engineer in New Jersey, between G4 Lester Sawyer Gurney Jr.'s civil-engineering career and G2 Lester Hayes Gurney's Indiana and Michigan Electric / AEP career. 4

Children

Name Dates Mother Notes
Lester Hayes Gurney1945-2025Edith Walberg ScottG2 in the direct line; born 16 November 1945 at St. Vincent's Hospital, New York City, while his father was stationed at Manila. 7

Narrative

Lester Sawyer Gurney III stands at the hinge between the Massachusetts/New York engineering world of his father and the Indiana utility career of his son. Dana Gurney's family notes place his birth at Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, on 10 June 1923 and identify him as having been Norwich University class of 1945 before wartime service. 13

The notes give his marriage to Edith Walberg Scott as 23 November 1942 in New York City. They also clarify his military setting: when he married Edith, he was serving with the Air Service Command at Robins Field, Georgia; he was later a lieutenant, commissioned in June or July 1944, and stationed at Manila with the 536th Signal Heavy Construction Company when Lester Hayes Gurney was born in New York City on 16 November 1945. 537

That service context revises an earlier family-note reading that had suggested "Marine." The stronger reading is Army / Army Air Forces / Signal Corps context: Air Service Command, Robins Field, Manila, and the 536th Signal Heavy Construction Company. Unless a separate Marine record appears, G3 should not be described as a Marine. 8

After the war, G3 belongs to the family's twentieth-century engineering continuity. Family evidence remembers him as a power engineer with McGraw Edison in New Jersey, between his father Lester Sawyer Gurney Jr.'s civil-engineering work and his son Lester Hayes Gurney's later utility career at Indiana and Michigan Electric / AEP. 4

Citations

  1. Gurney family handwritten oral-history and research notes, revised findings memorandum v3 prepared 4 May 2026 from eight photographed notebook pages, Appendix A, Page 5 transcription in Dana Gurney's hand: "Lester Gurney III / Born June 10, 1923 Wellesley Hills, MA." Source ID: gurney-family-handwritten-notes-1963. Back
  2. Gurney family handwritten notes, Page 5 transcription: "Died Dec 19, 2011." Source ID: gurney-family-handwritten-notes-1963. Back
  3. Gurney family handwritten notes, Page 5 transcription: "was Lt. & stationed at Manila"; "Commissioned June or July 1944"; "with 536th Signal Heavy Construction Co"; "serving with the Air Service Command at Robins Field, GA"; "Had been class of '45 Norwich University." Source ID: gurney-family-handwritten-notes-1963. Back
  4. Gurney family handwritten notes, revised findings memorandum v3, G3 consolidated interpretation and cross-generational engineering continuity section, recording Allen Gurney family evidence that G3 spent most of his career with McGraw Edison in New Jersey. Source ID: gurney-family-handwritten-notes-1963. Back
  5. Gurney family handwritten notes, Page 5 transcription: "Married Edith Walberg Scott / Nov 23, 1942 / N.Y. City." Source ID: gurney-family-handwritten-notes-1963. Back
  6. Gurney family handwritten notes, Page 5 transcription, right-side note: "Married Dorothy / Lillian Haben [or Haden?] / June 6, 1965." Source ID: gurney-family-handwritten-notes-1963. Back
  7. Gurney family handwritten notes, Page 5 transcription: G3 was with the 536th Signal Heavy Construction Company "when Lester Hayes Gurney was born 11-16-45 / in NY City, St Vincent's Hospital." Source ID: gurney-family-handwritten-notes-1963. Back
  8. Gurney family handwritten notes, revised findings memorandum v3, "Major correction from earlier reading," explaining that the earlier "Marine state side" reading should be downgraded in favor of Army / Army Air Forces / Signal Corps context. Source ID: gurney-family-handwritten-notes-1963. Back