Jim Tom Hester passed away on August 2, 2009 in San Antonio, Texas, at the age of 85. Jim was born on October 12, 1923 in Agua Dulce, Texas, the son of James Leslie and Maggie Lee Taylor Hester. He was a descendant of Hesters who came to DeWitt County, Texas from Salem, Georgia, in the 1840s. In 1932, the Les Hester family moved to a farm near Asherton in Dimmit County. Jim was a graduate of Asherton High School in 1941. At the beginning of World War II, he first served as registrar and guard of Army Air Force planes at the Asherton Municipal Airport. He attended Texas A&M College before joining the Air Army Force. He took pilot training at Garden City, Kansas and later served as an aircraft armorer trained at Lowry Field, Colorado. On June 12, 1943, he married Mattie Laura Umphres of Carrizo Springs. Married for 66 years, she preceded him in death on June 28, 2009. Their children survive; Thomas R. Hester and wife Lynda, of Utopia; Sarah E. Dundas and husband, Darrell, of Floresville, Stephen L. Hester and wife Nancy of San Antonio, and James D. Hester and wife Monica, of San Antonio, as well as 11 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. Also preceding Jim in death were his sister, Edith Hester Crone and her husband, John F. Crone (Falls Church, Virginia). Their son Jonathan Crone (Bealeton, Virginia) and his family survive. Jim enjoyed being involved in the lives of his children and grandchildren. He was a long time member of the Methodist Church. Jim had several careers, beginning as a farmer at his family's farm near Asherton.. He later worked for the Texas Highway Department, Texas Farm Bureau, Asgrow and ESCO seed companies (where he was a member of the "Million Dollar Plus Club").He was elected to the City Council of Carrizo Springs and was later named City Manager. (1966-1970). He was particularly proud of his role in obtaining funds for the Carrizo Springs Recreation Center, a major water and sewer improvement project, Federal housing for the elderly, and the building of a new City Hall. In 1970 he accepted the same position for the City of New Braunfels where he helped the City through the devastating flood of 1972. Later, he served as the administrator of Fort Clark Springs. In 1994, he and Mattie moved to Jourdanton where he served as General Manager of the Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District. Among his offices, honors and awards were from the Soil Conservation Service (1959), President, Carrizo Springs Lions Club (1954-1965), Texas Seed Trade Association Distinguished Service Award (1995). He was a member of the 127-year old Dimmit County Masonic Lodge 566, having been initiated in November 1944. Jim loved to play golf, and when not playing the game, he read about it, talked about it, and. in retirement opened his own golf-club making business. He was fondest of all of the Carrizo Springs Municipal Golf Course, but always had his clubs in the car trunk ready to play anywhere from the Rio Grande Valley to Pebble Beach, California. Services will be held on Thursday, August 6, at 11:00 a.m. at the First Methodist Church, Carrizo Springs. John Ferguson and Rev. Alex Alvarez will officiate with interment following in Mount Hope Cemetery. Pallbearers: Stephen L. Hester, Brian Stringer, Mason Hester, Darrell Dundas, Matt Brosh, and Marshall Hester. Arrangements by Leonard Funeral Home, Carrizo Springs.