Esther Hargrove Obituary

I got to spend nearly every Monday morning with Esther for over a year. Wow, it's been over a decade since we did that. What a great time! I so enjoyed her company, and will enjoy it when I see her again.

Val, I'm crying with you.

Esther was a special woman whose quiet demeanor hid an impish spirit. We enjoyed many days at the beaches of Florida, California, and Michigan swimming and soaking up the rays. She also enjoyed hikes so long as they were not too steep. On one hike in Yosemite we saw a bear across a small lake. We left when he headed toward our side and the kids had no trouble keeping up a fast pace on the way out (usually we would be carrying one or both of them. She enjoyed the bounty of our gardens, especially the flowers. It was a very sad day when she was taken so early from us.

Val's memories:

Mom always had a program for us at Christmas. She carried on the traditions of the advent pocket calendar and readings with visual aids to help us remember and understand the real meaning of Christmas. She always made holidays special.

When Mom was bedridden and I was in high school, I brought my pet rats down to cheer her up. She was not too sure about interacting with the rats, but soon warmed up to them. She loved animals and let me keep all kinds of different pets.

Mom sewed clothes and craft projects. She made a quilt and many clothes for me as a child, my banquet dress, blouses with animals on them, and a tablecloth with wedding guest's advice to Paul and I on our wedding day. She was very creative and always had projects going on.

More memories from friends to come!

Peter's memories:

The one thing that stands out in my mind about Esther is the love she had for insects and animals. One day she was standing out on our deck and she had on her hand a bumblebee, and she was petting it, it was almost like it was purring. She loved everything that was alive, especially insects. She had a huge insect collection. It was not for a school project, She just loved doing it.

The last hike we had - it was a moment when she was able to hike and converse and I thought maybe she was on her way back up.

Warren's memories:

We would go walking on the icebergs in winter growing up. She was almost like my little guardian angel. We probably started doing this when she was 14 and I was 8 on Lake Michigan. The icebergs would be a good 120 feet out into the lake. She would always tell me it's safe, you won't fall through. We did this for 3-4 winters in a row until I was close a 6th or 7th grade. My dad would take us out there once a week for an hour or so. This was in 1957 - 60 or so.

The last time she was here, Helene was remarking that Esther came in a very hot week. So I got out a pair of gloves and said come help me garden - she looked at me funny. I said you can come and help, inviting her to come out to the garden. We'd garden for an hour or so every evening, When we got done, I thought she'd go read, and I asked Helene where Esther was and and she'd be outside on the old iron lawn furniture in the shade in the NW corner of the garden doing her devotions for about a half an our from 8:30 - 9. I thought that was really neat that she had that favorite corner of the garden.