Waples Elmer William Jester

Waples Elmer William Jester age 92 of Williamsburg, Virginia, passed away on December 14, 2025

Waples was born on July 29,1933 to Emeline and Waples Jester, Sr. of Milford, Delaware. While growing up in Milford, he developed a lifelong love of seafood.

After graduating from high school, Waples joined the Army Reserves, where he rose to the rank of First Lieutenant.

In 1955, Waples married Sara (Sally) Pierce and converted to Catholicism. Waples became a devout Catholic and chose William as his confirmation name. He added William to his legal name, and from that point onward was known by most as Bill. Together, he and Sara raised three children and welcomed a grandchild into their family.

Waples worked in retail management until after his children finished college. In the early nineties he secured a position with the Virginia Department of Corrections to help manage the business of running Virginia’s prisons. In 2001, he became Business Manager for the Haynesville Correctional Center where he worked until he retired in August 2009.

During Waples’s tenure at Haynesville in 2005, Sara passed away after an extended illness. He found love again with Lorraine Varga Janssen, and they married in 2006. Together Lorraine and “Papa Bill” shared six children, as well as several grandchildren and great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews and their families.

After Sara passed, Bill brought to life his vision of Father Richard Dollard Memorial Garden and Columbarium. Bill did more than just propose the idea; he was the driving force behind its planning, design, and physical completion. He served as the Project Manager for the construction, working closely with the parish and the Knights of Columbus to ensure the space was both structurally sound and spiritually fitting.

As President of the Potomac Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), he served as primary organizer of the Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day celebrations at the Essex County War Memorial in Tappahannock.

A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, January 17th at Saint Timothy’s Catholic Church in Tappahannock, Virginia. Visitation will begin at 11:00 a.m., followed by a funeral mass starting at noon. Interment will follow the mass, and the family will receive friends afterward at Saint Jude Hall adjacent to the church.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the MOAA Foundation or the MOAA Scholarship Fund are welcome and appreciated.

Waples (Bill) Jester started out as the kid with the unusual name, but most people will remember him for his smile and his service to his church and to his country.