E. Roy Lester an American college and high school football coach died on May 3, 2020 in Rockville, Maryland, at the age of 96. The cause of death was complications of COVID-19.
Lester resided in Gaithersburg, Maryland and had four children – three sons and a daughter.
After a successful career at the high school level, he served as the head coach of the University of Maryland football team from 1969 to 1971.
Lester was the school’s fourth head coach in five years, and compiled a 7–25 record during his tenure. He was fired after the 1971 season when Maryland finished at the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference for the second consecutive year.
Lester returned to coach interscholastic football, including as head coach of Richard Montgomery High School where his teams compiled an 86–10–1 record and six undefeated seasons.
His high school teams won three Maryland state championships. Lester attended West Virginia University where he was a three-sport athlete and earned letters in football, baseball, and basketball. He was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
In 1996, the Maryland Football Coaches Association inducted Lester into its Hall of Fame. In 2002, Richard Montgomery High School renamed its athletic field Roy Lester Stadium in his honor.
In 2008, the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame inducted Lester as a member of its 18th class.