August 24, 2018
Esther Marion (Hestad) Hausmann died peacefully at her home, surrounded by her family, on August 24, 2018. Esther is survived by her husband Richard Hausmann, her brother Ervan Hestad, her daughter and son in law Susan and Tom Ward, her son and daughter in law Tom Hausmann and Kolleen Irvine, her son Paul Hausmann, her grandson Stuart Ward, her grandson and granddaughter in law Trevor and Heather Ward and her great grandsons Charlie and Cole Ward.
Esther was born to Ella and Millard Hestad on April 28, 1923 in Shelly, Minnesota. She had four sisters, Inga, Doris, Clare and Margaret, and one brother, Ervan. When Esther was four years old her mother died and Esther was raised by her Grandparents on their farm in Nielsville, Minnesota. After high school, Esther moved to Portland, Oregon and worked during World War II as a bookkeeper. She married Richard Hausmann and moved with him to Port Townsend, Washington in 1950. Richard worked at the Crown Zellerbach Paper Mill while Esther raised their three children. Intent on keeping Port Townsend’s children busy, Esther was a den mother, organizer, bus driver, fan and sometimes coach for the Brownies, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, PTA, Little League football and baseball, and High School Band and was one of the founders of the Port Townsend Swim Club. Esther was a prodigious fundraiser for Seattle Children's Hospital, organizing duplicate bridge parties for her extensive network of friends. When her children were grown, Esther went into business with her son Paul, operating the Spring Valley Golf Club. Esther provided hot coffee, cold beer, kindness and her special fish and chips to Port Townsend’s municipal golfers until she retired in 1986. After retirement, Ester continued to look after her grandchildren, great grandchildren and neighbors. Esther rescued and loved a succession of homeless dogs who were her constant companions. She spent time with her many friends in Port Townsend, visited family in Minnesota and traveled with her sisters to London, Hawaii and Mexico. Like her Nordic prairie farmer forebears, Esther was devoted to her family, hardworking and stoic but she had a wonderful sense of humor and found reasons to laugh every day, even as Alzheimer's disease stole her independence.
