St. Joseph First United Methodist Church            
3003 Leco Court, Saint Joseph, Michigan 49085
Phone: (269) 983-3929
Fax: (269) 983-1973

Julie Lester
Parish Nurse

Julie Lester, Parish Nurse, ministers to body, mind and spirit.  Whether she is taking blood pressure, giving flu shots, visiting at the hospital, looking in on someone at home, or responding to a late night call, she is serving her parish.

Winter Park, Florida, is Julie’s birthplace.  This was home until she was ten.  When her father took a position with Hope College, the family moved to Holland, MI.  "Family" consisted of two boys and two girls, Julie being the oldest.

In her teens, as a member of Christ Memorial Reformed Church, Julie participated in youth groups, sang in the choir and taught Sunday School.  In high school she was a co-op student at the hospital.  This experience firmed up her choice of nursing as a career.

Julie’s college work was at Valparaiso University.  Not only did she receive her nurse’s training, but she also met Mark Lester, the man she would marry.  Mark came from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and was a semester ahead of Julie.  Mark’s employment at Cook Nuclear Plant as a Mechanical Engineer in January was just the start of a memorable year.  Julie received her BSN in late May and one month after graduation, June 1981, they were married.  They first lived in Bridgman but moved to St. Joseph at the end of the year.  Mark is still with Cook but as a Training Instructor.

Julie’s nursing career began at Memorial Hospital (now Lakeland) in July 1981 where she worked on the post-surgical floor.  Motherhood became part of her career.  She and Mark have three sons, Glenn (1983), Phillip (1986) and George (1989).  When the children were young, Julie worked part-time at the hospital.  In time she gave up hospital nursing and was a home-care nurse through Lakeland.  Her next position was School Nurse for the St. Joseph Public Schools.  Since September 2001 she has been our Parish Nurse.  She still works occasionally at the hospital in out-patient surgery.  She also teaches CPR at the hospital and in the community, helps with health fairs and screenings, and gives flu shots.

Julie finds her work as Parish Nurse most satisfying.  Her schedule is flexible so that she can spend time with anyone who needs help – young, old and in between.  She is free to set up programs directed toward preventive medicine.  She says that it is the best of jobs.

To Julie, nursing is a calling and a means of showing Christ’s compassion.  She believes our well-being is a result of good physical, good mental and good spiritual health.  In her position she can minister to all aspects of a person’s need.  Her own words express her dedication.  “I see the face of Jesus in clients and parishioners.”  Though her position is one of service and giving to others, she also receives.  She says with all sincerity, “I am inspired by people’s faith.”  

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Contact St. Joseph First United Methodist Church @ stjoefumc2@juno.com