Prayers Service: Sunday, June 13, 2004 at 7:00pm the Episcopal Church in Forsyth.
Funeral Services: Monday, June 14, 2004 at 2:00 PM in the Chapel of Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Forsyth.
Internment: Forsyth Cemetery in Forsyth.
In a farmhouse close to Ekalaka, Montana, EstherNelstead Dean was born on Nov. 4, 1918 to Rudolph and Jenny (Everson) Nelstead. She died June 9, 2004 at Rosebud Health Care Center after a long struggle with emphysema.
Esther grew up in Miles City and graduated from Custer County High School in 1935. She graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, MN earning a degree in history and English literature. She was selected as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In Forsyth, she met and married Walter B. Dean Jr. on October 28, 1940. After the birth of their daughter, Marcyes in 1941, Walter joined the Navy to serve in World War II. They moved to Florida where daughter Janice was born. After the war, the family returned to Forsyth where four sons, Walter, Rudy, Gordon and Peter, were born. Esther stayed at home raising children until 1966 when she began teaching and she taught atIngomar and the Forsyth Catholic School. In 1971, she was selected to serve as the Rosebud County Librarian, a job she loved. Through this job, she assisted many young students with reading and research projects which was work she truly enjoyed. Her knowledge and love of history and her thirst for learning were contagious to folks around her. Many enjoyed stopping by the library for stimulating conversations and sharing ideas. A great legacy which Esther left to Rosebud County was the compiling of the book They Came and Stayed, the definitive history of families of Rosebud County. Through the years, she and her husband Walter provided musical entertainment which brought a lively spirit to many local occasions.
After retiring from the library in 1980, she fulfilled a lifetime dream by traveling both around the world and locally to visit family and friends. She spent her time on the organizations in which she believed Eastern Star, Ascension Episcopal Church and its Guild and Forsyth Womens Club. Among the activities that brought great joy to Esther were cooking wonderful meals for friends and family, making candy using her own original recipes, knitting special items for those close to her and sharing her profound knowledge of local history and people with anyone who asked.
Esther was diagnosed with emphysema in 1991, so she traveled with oxygen and enjoyed several winters in Arizona for the warm, dry air. She would often say, If I had not smoked for fifty years, I would be planning my next cruise!
She is survived by two daughters MarcyesSchmaus, Sheridan, WY; Janice(Max) Bauer, Forsyth and four sons Walter, Ennis, MT; Rudy(Bonnie),Fort Wayne, IN: Gordon, Forsyth and Peter(Alta),Huntley, MT. There are 16 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
Mother, we love you and miss you. You are so much of who we are!
Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 13, 2004 from 1:00 to 7:00PM in the Chapel of Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Forsyth. A prayer service will be at the Episcopal Church at 7:00pm Sunday , June 13th for Esther friends and family. Funeral Service will be held on Monday, June 14, 2004 at 2:00PM in the Chapel of Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Forsyth. Condolences can be made to the Dean family atwww.stevensonandsons.com. Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home of Forsyth is in charge of the arrangements.
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