Obituaries : Lesta Kay Perkins

Lesta Kay Perkins, 63 of Swisher, formerly of Vinton, passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by her loving family, on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Celebration of life services will be 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 23, 2016 at Brosh Chapel in Cedar Rapids, located at 2121 Bowling Street SW, with burial to follow at Anderson Cemetery near Swisher. Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 22, 2016 at Brosh Chapel. Lesta was born April 3, 1953 in Vinton, Iowa, the daughter of Herb and Kathryn (Richart) Lynch. Lesta worked at Amana Refrigeration for 13 years, which is where she met Tom, her husband of 36 years. She then decided to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. She had a great compassion and love for all of her patients and their families. Throughout her 26 years of nursing she touched the hearts and lives of so many people. She has been awarded Cancer Advocate of the Year, the Betsy York Memorial OCN of the year for the North American Central Region, as well as being an I Can Cope facilitator for the American Cancer Society. She was also a huge advocate for breast cancer awareness, leading her to play a large role in the organization of the annual Especially For You Breast Cancer Walk & 5k here in Cedar Rapids. She was frequently requested to speak at events in the community because of her intelligence and strong skills in relating to people from all walks of life. Although her career was important to her, the most important things to her were her children, grandchildren, family, and friends. Her enjoyments included camping, boating, and laying out in the sun. Lesta is survived by her husband Tom; her daughter Rachelle (Dave) Timmerman of Cedar Rapids; her son Ryan Perkins of Fairfax; four grandchildren Kali, Paige, John and Tessa Timmerman; her granddog Hannah; her sister Becky Lynch (Ron Thompson) of Mt. Auburn; her brother Pat Lynch of Mt. Auburn; sisters-in-law Peggy Pechota of Bertram and Linda (Duane) McQuerry of Cedar Rapids; as well as her nephews Jeff Spencer, Steven Spencer, Brett Pechota, Josh Pechota and John McQuerry and her niece Julie McQuerry. Lesta was preceded in death by her parents. A memorial fund has been established in honor of Lesta. All other memorials may be directed to the Anna Purna Ghosh Foundation. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.broshchapel.com.