Chester, John Needels, 1864-1955

Engineer, manuscript collector, and alumnus of the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign campus).

Born 24 Sept. 1864 in Groveport, Ohio, to Hubert Chester and Melvina Sophia Needels, John Needels Chester moved to Champaign County, Ill., with his family in 1865. He graduated from the University of Illinois 1891 with a degree in engineering, earned his professional degree in civil engineering in 1909, and his master's degree from the University of Illinois in 1911. Chester a was member of the Society of Mechanical Engineers, a member and and president of the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania, and a member and vice-president of the American Society of Civil Engineering. He won the George Warren Fuller Award of the American Water Works Association for distinguished service in the field of water works supply. He founded the company of Chester and Fleming Engineers in Pittsburgh, which became Chester Engineers after Fleming's death. He was also a director of the University of Illinois Foundation. Chester died on 1 Nov. 1955 in Urbana, Ill., after a long illness. He is buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery, Urbana, Ill.