Mary Louise Hester, 04 Jul 1917 - 04 Jan 2014

HESTER, BARRON, STARK, ADAM

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 1/14/2014 at 16:04:46

Mary Hester, 96

Funeral Mass for Mary L. Hester, 96, Iowa City, formerly of North English, was held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 8, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, North English. She died Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014.

Burial was in the North English Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Bill and Mary Hester Scholarship for English Valley Citizens Scholarship Foundation (EVCSF).

Powell Funeral Home, North English, was in charge of arrangements.

Mary Louise Hester was born July 4, 1917, in Fort Madison, the daughter of James and Sarah (Stark) Barron. She graduated from Fort Madison High School in 1935, then graduated at the top of her class from St. Joseph Nursing School, Ottumwa, in 1938. After graduation, she worked as a nurse at Mercy Hospital, Cedar Rapids. While living and working in Cedar Rapids, she met Bill Hester.

The couple were married April 9, 1942, just before he was shipped out for wartime naval duty. After the war, in 1947, the couple moved to North English, where they lived until 2006, when they moved to Iowa City to live with their daughter, Rosemary.

She worked as a nurse at Sigourney Hospital for several years and then for Dr. Larry Miller in North English until retiring at the age of 71. She dedicated her life to health care, helping others and raising her family.

Hester is survived by her children, Terry (Sharon), Davenport; John (Linda), Lone Tree; Jim (Candy), Des Moines; Rosemary Adam, Iowa City, and a special daughter, Sandy Hester, North English; 12 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband Bill, of 65 years; her parents; brother, Joe; sisters, Marguerite and Agnes; sons, Francis and Tom, and granddaughter, Tracy.

The Williamsburg Journal Tribune 09 Jan 2014
The Gazette 06 Jan 2014
The English Valleys Star, Jan 2014