Lester A. Hoel

1935 - 2022

Lester A. Hoel
February 26, 1935 - April 19, 2022
Lester A. Hoel died peacefully on April 19, 2022 in San Francisco. He was born during the Great Depression on February 26, 1935 to Norwegian immigrants, Johannes and Julie Hoel. He liked to joke that nobody "planned" to have children at that time and benefited greatly as part of the "scarce generation".
Lester believed in education—for himself and others. Education allowed him to rise out of the Brooklyn tenement where he grew up to become one of the world's foremost authorities on public transportation. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School, City College of New York, Polytechnic Institute of New York (now NYU), and the University of California at Berkeley (where he earned his Doctorate). He believed "a winner never quits and a quitter never wins" which enabled him to embrace any task enthusiastically. He was also known for saying, "If it is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well."
Lester had a long and distinguished career as an educator and researcher. He was the L.A. Lacy Distinguished Professor of Engineering and served as the Director of Transportation Studies at the University of Virginia. From 1974 to 1989, he served as Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering. Prior to Virginia, Lester was Professor of Civil Engineering and Associate Director of the Transportation Research Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. He retired in 2009 at the age of 74.
Lester was a prolific and influential writer in his field. He pioneered research that would influence the future of highway transportation. He wrote hundreds of papers and co-authored popular textbooks. Traffic and Highway Engineering and Transportation Infrastructure Engineering, A Multimodal Integration are staples in graduate and undergraduate university courses in transportation engineering. Through his "Professional Program in Urban Transportation", Lester traveled the world, studying the transportation systems of Paris, London, Munich, Stockholm, Montreal, and more. His research and influence as a national authority have led to safer, more sustainable transportation systems to move people and connect communities throughout the world.
Lester received numerous awards, including a Fulbright Fellowship which allowed him to teach in his beloved Norway. At 54 years old, he became a member of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering, an honor earned for "outstanding contributions and leadership to urban public transportation research and education". He was the first professor at the University of Virginia to receive the distinction while on the faculty. He was elected "Distinguished Member" of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)—one of only 200 members out of a membership of over 150,000. His office wall was covered with framed awards and plaques, a deep source of pride and humility that comes from a lifelong commitment to hard work.
Lester loved his violin and could play any song by ear. Fritz Kreisler and The Statler Brothers were his favorites, as he was passionate about both classical and country music. He loved playing duets with his piano playing friends. David McCullough, author of The Wright Brothers, The Paths Between the Seas, and The Great Bridge, was both his favorite author and friend, as he was passionate about the history of transportation. Lester was a loyal member of The Rotary Club in both Charlottesville and St. Helena. He began life as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and later became a San Francisco Giants fan, and would never forget the day when he watched Matt Cain pitch a no-hitter in 2014. He believed in living "one day at a time" and practiced yoga and meditation each morning. He also enjoyed playing tennis and had a knack for hitting the ball to his opponent where it was just out of reach.
Lester truly loved and was loved by his friends, family, and students. He liked to connect deeply in conversation. He is remembered for his fantastic smile, amazing attitude, and wisdom. He continues to share that wisdom with the world with his book, I'll Have to Remember That: Ten Ideas for Living. He loved to tell young people, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there" and believed, "A soft answer will turn away anger."
Lester moved with his beloved wife, Unni, to St. Helena, California to be closer to family in 2009, leaving Charlottesville, VA and Duck, NC behind. In 2016, he moved to the San Francisco Towers and spent the last few summers on Walloon Lake in Northern Michigan. In 1992, Lester survived quadruple bypass heart surgery and, thanks to his amazing medical team, the world got 30 more years with him.
Lester is survived by his wife of 63 years, Unni, his three daughters, Julie Bryan, Sonja Perkins, and Lisa Rafael, and his son-in-law, Jon Perkins. He was "Bestefar" to his four grandchildren, Tyler, Emma, and Jordan Rafael, and Jack Perkins. He is also survived by his nieces and nephew, Debbie Wasserman, Lauren O'Neill, and John Lester Dawson—the children of his beloved sister Maureen who passed away too early in 1977. His mother, Julie, who called him "Lester Darling," and father, John, passed away long ago. Lester's legacy lives on through all of the people whose lives he touched.
A memorial service will be held on May 10, 2022 at 4:00 pm at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to be made to Project Glimmer or Gold Coast Greyhound Adoptions.