Stevens, Esther L. 1930-2016

STEVENS, BRACY, TIEDEMANN, BERKLAND, BURCH, PEPIN, DYSON, DEMAIORIBUS, HARGRAVES, LEWIS

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 1/15/2016 at 12:56:47

VISITATION
Monday January 18, 2016
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory
Newton, IA

FUNERAL SERVICE
Tuesday January 19, 2016 11:00 AM
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Newton, IA

Esther L. Stevens, 85, of Newton died on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, at Skiff Medical Center. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, January 19, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. The family will greet friends from 5-7 p.m., Monday, January 18, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory. Memorials to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church may be left at the church the morning of the service or at the funeral home.

Esther, the daughter of Esper and Helen (Bracy) Tiedemann, was born on September 6, 1930 in Poweshiek County. She started school in Malcom and then as a young girl moved to Grinnell, where she was in the class of 1947.

Esther was united in marriage with George Stevens on December 31, 1945 in Waterloo. They made their home in Grinnell and Melbourne, before moving to Newton in 1955. Esther was a homemaker, raising the couple’s two daughters, Susanne and Kristine. She also co-owned Henry’s Drive -In in Newton. Esther was a member of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and the Moose Lodge. She loved getting together with people to have coffee or go out for supper. Once a month she would meet with a group of her classmates in Grinnell and every Thursday, a group of seven people, including Esther and George, would go out for supper in Newton. Esther enjoyed being social and was loved by many. She was also a very talented quilt maker, making many quilts for family and friends.

Those left to honor Esther’s memory are her husband of 70 years, George Stevens of Newton; two daughters, Susanne (Gary) Berkland of Belmond and Kristine (Rick) Burch of Shawnee, Kansas; her three grandchildren, Kariin (Mike) Pepin, Mara Berkland (Dave Dyson), and Daniel Burch; and two great-grandchildren, Klaudia and Isak Pepin and Sadie DeMaioribus.

She was preceded in death by her parents; twin daughters, Jean and Jane who died at birth on December 9, 1954; and a half sister, Jo Ann Hargraves-Lewis. ~ The Wallace Family Funeral Home, Newton, Iowa 13 Jan 2016.