Esther Ella (Kurtzbein) Weckwerth

Esther Weckwerth, of Montevideo, died on Wednesday, March 22, 2000, at the Luther Haven Nursing Home in Montevideo at the age of 94.

Funeral services were conducted on Friday, March 24, 2000 at 1:30 P.M. at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Montevideo with Rev. Richard Hamlow officiating.  Burial was in the St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery in Sparta Township.

Esther Ella (Kurtzbein) Weckwerth was born on January 24, 1906, in Montevideo, MN to Frank and Ida (Lange) Kurtzbein.  She was baptized as an infant at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Montevideo and confirmed at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Sparta Township.  She attended rural schools in District 7.  As a small child she moved to the Kurtzbein farm east of Montevideo, where she resided until being united in marriage to Bernhardt (Ben) Weckwerth on November 27, 1924.  They farmed in Sparta Township all their married life.  Ben died in 1953.  She worked at the Hopkins Nursing Home as a cook from 1961 to 1965, after which she moved back to Montevideo and worked as a cook at Brookside Manor until retiring in 1980.  She was an active member of St. Johns Lutheran Church and was the last charter member of the Ladies Aid.  She enjoyed quilting, embroidery, baking, and spending time with her family.

She is survived by two daughters: Laura Tongen of Eden Prairie, MN and Bernetta Tongen and her husband Harlan of Minnetonka, MN; one daughter-in-law, Myrtiss Weckwerth of Montevideo, MN; 13 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great-grandchildren; one sister-in-law, Jean Kurtzbein of Montevideo, MN; as well as many other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Bernhardt in 1953; one daughter, Dorothy Peterson in1984; one son, Elmer in 1999; two sons-in-law: Alvin Peterson and Willard Tongen; three brothers: Herman, George, and Edwin Kurtzbein; and two sisters: Elsie Grams and Zana Herrlich Kutzik Thein.