Benjamin Lester Abberger III.
On Wednesday (8/20), the Tallahassee Democrat (Florida) published the following obituary: “Benjamin Lester Abberger III, a fourth-generation Floridian who devoted his life to making his state a better place, died on August 15, 2025…. He was born … on November 22, 1952, in Orlando. He attended Davidson College in North Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. Lester also completed the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government … He worked as a Cabinet aide to Florida Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner Bill Gunter. He then worked in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Urban Mass Transportation Administration … and served in various government relations roles for the Florida Hospital Cost Containment Board, the Florida Hospital Association, and Florida Water Services. He went on to form … B.L. Abberger and Co., a public affairs and investment banking concern…. Nationally, he served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Federation of State Humanities Councils, served on the League of American Orchestras’ Board [2016-2020], and on the Board of Visitors at Davidson College… Lester served on the Boards of Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and the Tallahassee Neighborhood Medical Center…. He is survived by his wife Amanda Leigh Stringer [CEO of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra] and stepchildren Elizabeth Shipp Sauer and Benjamin Storms Sauer.”
