Esther A. Martin

Born October 1st, 1929

Esther Martin passed away on August 21st, 2024, just short of her 95th birthday, at McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester VT. During her short stay there, she was wonderfully cared for by the staff, and by her three loving children Kris, Deb, and Fritz, and daughter-in-law Betsy

Born Esther Adele Schultz on October 1, 1929, "Essie," as she was known, was the youngest of four children born to Eleanora and August Schultze. She was raised on the family farm in Deer Creek Township, Iowa, near the tiny town of Clare. Growing up there she attended a one-room schoolhouse which required her (as she loved to remind her kids!) to walk 3 miles every day, regardless of weather conditions. At age 14, she was recruited to drive the John Deere during harvest season while her father and other relatives manned the binder, leaving her little 100 lb frame to wrestle the wheel of the big tractor at the end of each row, struggling to keep the rig straight and true, which she declared she did every time.

During her high school years, she boarded away from home at her big sister Mabel's house in Fort Dodge, where the closest high school was. During her weekends at home, her chore was to clean the house top to bottom. While living at Mabel's she became best friends with Ruth Martin, who lived next door to Mabel, and became acquainted with Ruth's brother, Paul Martin. She didn't really get to know Paul until after WWII when he returned from flying P-51s in the Pacific theater, looking pretty darn attractive in that Army Air Corps Lieutenant's uniform. After a couple of years at Grinnell College, a wedding and three children ensued along with a sequence of homes in St. Louis, MO, Newton, IA, and, East Aurora, NY.

While in East Aurora, Essie was active in the Aurora Players as well as a local Children's theater, and was an assistant at East Aurora High School. As her stint at Grinnell College was interrupted by life, she decided to go back to school and finish her degree at Daemen College. She then moved to Evanston IL to be nearer family in 1983. In 2002 she moved back to East Aurora where she enjoyed being a salesperson at the Roycroft gift shop and spent many hours roaming the countryside mapping out every cupola (she loved cupolas) in western New York. She lived in East Aurora until 2013 when she moved to Williston, Vermont in order to be closer to her kids who at the time lived in Arlington, MA, and Richmond, VT. In Vermont, she became a formidable Mahjong player and made many dear friends during her 11 years at the Whitney Hill Homestead independent living community.

Regardless of where she was living, she always made friends quickly and easily and she was a joy to be around which is why she will be sorely missed by all those who knew her.

She is survived by her 3 children, Kristin Nelson, Deborah (Richard) Minns, and Frederic (Betsy) Martin, and her 9 Grandchildren, Hannah, Ben, and Willy Nelson, Martin, Curtis, Todd, and Karen Minns, and Mariah and Jonathan Martin, and 4 great grandchildren, Ryan and Christopher Nelson, Neil Minns, and William Carey, and her sister-in-law Jodi Martin, as well as many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will not be held. Instead, we encourage her friends and family to "celebrate in place" and share memories, thoughts, and photos on her memorial web page at - www.champlaincremation.com/obituaries

Donations may be made in her name to McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester, Vermont.