Esther Lillian Close (Blume)
February 16, 1908 — January 17, 2014
Esther Lillian Close, 105, died Friday, January 17, 2014, at Linn Manor Care Center in Marion, Iowa. She was born to Elizabeth (Meyer) and Samuel Blume in Dunn County, Wisconsin, on February 16, 1908. She graduated from Menomonie (WI) High School, and enrolled in Dunn County Normal to prepare to become a teacher. She graduated from Normal in 1927, and the following fall, began teaching in Ridgeland, WI.
Esther was married to Ernest Close on November 16, 1929. Three children were born, a daughter who died in infancy; a daughter, Juan Marie (Jo); and a son, John Eugene, (Jack).
Esther lived in Menomonie and Eau Claire, WI, Moorhead, MN, and West Des Moines and Marion, IA. In EauClaire, she began working as a nurse-aide in Luther Hospital. By her retirement, she had worked in every department of the hospital from surgery to central supply.
Esther and Ernest traveled throughout the US in a series of recreational vehicles. After retiring, Esther continued to enjoy travel to Hawaii, the Holy Land, Switzerland, Alaska, Australia, and New Zealand.
Esther was preceded in death by the infant daughter, her parents, a brother and sister, her husband, and her daughter-in-law. She is survived by her daughter Jo (Orville) Alitz and their children, Beth (Joe) Clause, and David (Dawn) Alitz, as well as her son, Jack and his children Heidi Close (Charles Hean) and J. Peter Close (Karen Sassmannshaus). Also surviving are seven great-granddaughters, two great-grandsons, a great-great-granddaughter, a great-great-grandson, a niece, and cousins.
An event celebrating Esther’s life will be scheduled later in Elk Mound, Wisconsin, and her cremains will be buried in Waneka Cemetery in rural Dunn County, Wisconsin.
Esther was married to Ernest Close on November 16, 1929. Three children were born, a daughter who died in infancy; a daughter, Juan Marie (Jo); and a son, John Eugene, (Jack).
Esther lived in Menomonie and Eau Claire, WI, Moorhead, MN, and West Des Moines and Marion, IA. In EauClaire, she began working as a nurse-aide in Luther Hospital. By her retirement, she had worked in every department of the hospital from surgery to central supply.
Esther and Ernest traveled throughout the US in a series of recreational vehicles. After retiring, Esther continued to enjoy travel to Hawaii, the Holy Land, Switzerland, Alaska, Australia, and New Zealand.
Esther was preceded in death by the infant daughter, her parents, a brother and sister, her husband, and her daughter-in-law. She is survived by her daughter Jo (Orville) Alitz and their children, Beth (Joe) Clause, and David (Dawn) Alitz, as well as her son, Jack and his children Heidi Close (Charles Hean) and J. Peter Close (Karen Sassmannshaus). Also surviving are seven great-granddaughters, two great-grandsons, a great-great-granddaughter, a great-great-grandson, a niece, and cousins.
An event celebrating Esther’s life will be scheduled later in Elk Mound, Wisconsin, and her cremains will be buried in Waneka Cemetery in rural Dunn County, Wisconsin.
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