Rip Robert "squirrel" Lester From The Chi-Lites

[Britmusicsoulfan]

Hello Everyone,

I just received this in an e-mail:

Marshall Thompson, leader of The Chi-Lites, mourns the loss of his partner, Robert "Squirrel" Lester. Squirrel was an original member of The Chi-Lites. They have been sharing the stage together for the past 50 years and were about to celebrate their 50th Anniversary.

Sad news, indeed.

[Guest isis]

RIP Robert Lester ..."You Don't Have To Go" one of my fav feelgood records...thank you.

[45cellar]

Sad news indeed

R.I.P. Robert Lester

[Guest FrostyJak]

R.I.P

So many top tunes to be remembered by

[Guest]

I guess he will be "Living In The Footsteps

Of Another Man" now during "The Coldest Days Of My Life"

RIP Squirrel sadly under rated and sadly missed

[Guest taffy]

Robert was the husband of Ruby Andrews.

R.I.P Squirel and condolences to Ruby and family.

[Guest bazabod_downunder]

Very sad, got notification from Ruby via facebook.

KTF

Baz

Robert was the husband of Ruby Andrews.

R.I.P Squirel and condolences to Ruby and family.

[Guest]

RIP, yet another Soul Brother gone, what a magnificent group and what a recorded legacy.

Edited January 23, 2010 by chorleysoul

[Guest mrs norman maine]

RIP Mr. Lester and condolences to Ruby, Marshall, his family and friends.

Edited January 25, 2010 by mrs norman maine

[JOE TORQUAY]

not sure if anyone mentioned this but more bad news,

Mr. Robert "Squirrel" Lester" of the Chi-Lites passed away last thursday,

marshall thomson is live on dave browns show on solar radio ( 0129 ) on sky

tomorrow at about 2.45 pm

Robert "Squirrel" Lester teamed with singers from a rival South Side doo-wop group to form the Chi-Lites, which scored chart-topping hits in the 1970s with "Oh Girl" and "Have You Seen Her."

Mr. Lester, 67, died of cancer Thursday, Jan. 21, in Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago, said Marshall Thompson, a fellow original Chi-Lites member. He was a South Side resident.

Mr. Lester got his nickname for his propensity to clamber up trees as a small boy in Mississippi, Thompson said. His family moved to Chicago, and he met Thompson and other singers as a student at Hyde Park High School in the late 1950s.

Mr. Lester and Eugene Record were singing with the Chantours, while Thompson was with the Desideros. Both sang in the fashion of the day.

"They were modeled on the Flamingos, we were the Spaniels," Thompson said with a laugh, referring to doo-wop's big groups of the time.

The Chantours and the Desideros faced off at South Side talent shows but members from each group eventually combined forces in the Hi-Lites.

Mr. Thompson convinced an uncle to lend him money for a recording session at a studio on 47th Street. They later found there was another group called the Hi-Lites, so they added a "C" to reflect their hometown.

Mr. Record, who died in 2005, was the group's lead singer and songwriter, while Mr. Lester sang second tenor. The Chi-Lites took awhile to get going, but by the late 1960s were on a roll. They played Harlem's Apollo Theater in 1969 " Thompson remembered it as "crazy" " and recorded 11 top-20 R&B hits in the ensuing decade.

Members occasionally came and went, but Mr. Lester was a staple of the Chi-Lites throughout his life, playing concerts all over the world with stops in Japan, Germany, Korea and Greenland, Thompson said. His final performance with the group was last summer.

Mr. Lester is survived by his wife, Louise; his mother, Ann Hines; two sons, Robert Jr. and Carey; seven daughters, Kimberly Johnson, Tijwana, Robin, Latoia, Chrystal, Kimberly and Lynnette; three sisters, Jacqueline Wahl, Pamela Denson and Joanne Hines; and 19 grandchildren.

Services are planned for Feb. 4.

textSize()Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune

more tributes here,

https://search.bt.com/result?p=Mr.+Robert+%22Squirrel%22+Lester

var address = document.location.href; address = "https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/ct-obit-lester-20100123,0,3510290.story"; var OutbrainPermaLink = address; var OB_Template = "tribune"; var OB_demoMode = false; var OBITm = "1246464862814"; var OB_langJS = 'https://widgets.outbrain.com/lang_en.js'; if ( typeof(OB_Script) != 'undefined' ) { OutbrainStart(); } else { var OB_Script = true; var str = ''; document.write(str); }

[Has]

Service For Robert "Squirrel" Lester of The Chi-Lites

His body will lie-in-state all day Wednesday, February 3, 2010 from 12:00 noon at the Harold Washington Cultural Center, 47th and King Drive, Chicago, IL.

Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, February 4, 2010. The service will be as follows: Family hour - 11:00 a.m., funeral at 12:00 noon at Third Baptist Church of Chicago 1551 West 95th Street (95th and Ashland) Chicago, Illinois 60643. Phone (773) 445- 8500. Fax (773) 445-2957. Interment to follow immediately after services. Repast to follow in the church reception hall.

If you plan to attend either day, please advise as I am attempting to reserve seating for all artists/personalities and media staff. Flowers, cards and telegrams can be sent to Minor- Morris Funeral Home, 1018 West 79th Street, Joliet, IL 60433 - 815-723-1283.

Please keep his family members and The Chi- Lites in prayer. Squirrel is survived by his wife, Louise; 9 children, his mother and 3 sisters.

For more information.

Gus Redmond 312.363.7980

Thanks.

Edited January 27, 2010 by has

[Kris Holmes]

P

RIP, a great part of a great group.