Esther Hoffman, 90, Artesian, died Friday, March 28, 2014 at Firesteel Healthcare Center in Mitchell.
Funeral services were Wednesday, April 2 at 10:30 a.m. at the Fedora Presbyterian Church, Fedora. Burial was in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Artesian. Visitation was Tuesday evening with a prayer service at the Bittner Funeral Chapel in Mitchell.
Esther L. (Dean) Hoffman was born Feb. 1, 1924 at Milan, Ill., to Henry and Ella (Rettig) Dean. She had six brothers and sisters: Elsie, Ruth, William, Clarence, Raymond and Harriet. She attended grade school at Milan. As a teenager, Esther worked at the Milan Bakery for $10 a week.
Being just two years apart in age, Esther and her sister, Harriet, were very close and did a lot of things together. Esther played the mandolin and Harriet the guitar and they sang and played on WLS radio station and were billed as the “Dean Sisters”. Esther has always loved music and dancing.
She married Otto Hoffman in Illinois on Sept. 6, 1941. They had a double wedding with her sister, Harriet, and husband, Warren Tindall. Otto and Esther farmed in Illinois for 10 years and had three children, Jim (1943), Gene (1946) and Judy (1949). They purchased a farm near Artesian in 1951. Before they moved, they lost their home and all their belongings to a fire. They farmed, ranched and raised their children near Artesian.
Otto passed away in February 1987. Esther stayed on the farm until November 2010 when health issues caused her to move to Firesteel Healthcare Center.
Esther was a wonderful cook and baker and always had a fresh batch of cookies and coffee to share with guests. Esther loved gardening and her green thumb was evident in the beautiful flower gardens she raised each spring and summer. She worked side-by-side with her husband for 36 years to make their farm a showplace and continued to keep it beautiful after he passed away.
Esther was very active in the Artesian Senior Citizens and was president for many years. She enjoyed playing cards with the other folks that came. She was also very active in the Fedora Presbyterian Church, and considered Pastor Dick Poppen a very special friend.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Otto; her parents, Ella (Rettig) and Henry Dean; three brothers, William, Clarence and Raymond Dean; three sisters, Elsie Hodson, Ruth Parker and Harriet Tindall; and two infant grandsons, Tracy and Travis Hoffman.
She is survived by two sons, Jim and Karen (Peterson) Hoffman and Gene Hoffman; one daughter, Judy (Hoffman) and Lowell Wormstadt; daughter-in-law, Judi (Vinz) Larson; nine grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.