Lester Bermond

Lester Bermond attended law school at the University of Missouri, graduating in 1912, a year before his brother Dale. Both were life-long members of the Alpha Nu chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. During this time, Lester excelled as a quarter- and half-miler and was eventually captain of the Tigers’ track and field team. He won the 440 yd title of the Missouri Valley Conference in 1910 and 1912, and the 880 yd title in 1911 and 1912. His best ranking in the world was an eighth place in the 880 in 1911 with 1:55.1. Bermond was selected for the 1912 Stockholm Olympic team to compete in the 800 m but did not start.

Bermond entered a professional career with Swift & Company, a major meat processing company. He first worked in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the company opened their largest plant in the 1920s, and later at the headquarters in Chicago. In 1914, he married Edith Frances Waller, with whom he had a son and a daughter.