Dates
Pastor Chester Sylvester, age 97 and a resident of San Angelo for more than thirty years, graduated to his heavenly home on April 23, 2015 to be with the Lord he served since becoming a Christian at age 17. He lived at the Sagecrest Unit of Baptist Retirement Home.
The funeral service will be held Saturday, April 25, 1:00pm at Lakeview Baptist Church, San Angelo with burial at Lawnhaven Cemetery, San Angelo.
He is survived by his wife, Melba Sylvester of San Angelo. He is also survived by his son, Dr. David Sylvester and his wife Daneta, and their son, Andrew of Hurst, TX.
Pastor Sylvester was preceded in death by his siblings: Manual Sylvester, Homer Sylvester, Lenora Brown, Corein Stewart, Edelle Wade, and Ozell Phillips and by countless number of nieces and nephews. He was born December 10, 1917 at his family home place west of Austin, TX on the Colorado River. The waters of Lake Travis covered their home place after the government built the Mansfield Dam which caused their family to move. They settled six miles south of Lampasas, TX where he finished high school.
After sensing the call to preach the gospel, he attended Howard Payne College and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1945. While there, he met Melba Wolff of San Angelo and they married January 23, 1945, more than seventy years ago.
Pastor Sylvester served as pastor of several Southern Baptist churches in Texas beginning in 1939 as a college student. He also attended Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. His last pastorate was at Carlsbad Baptist Church ending in 1984 after which he continued his ministry of pastoral care at the Lakeview Baptist Church, San Angelo, TX.
Pastor Sylvester was a recognized and respected figure in the San Angelo area due to his personal visits to patients and residents at area hospitals and nursing facilities for many years.
The family asks that memorials may be given to Lakeview Baptist Church, San Angelo, TX.