Esther Steinke (Nov 13, 1918 Oct 1, 2012). Esther Steinke was born on November 13, 1918 in Winnipeg, MB. She was the eldest of seven children born to Rheinhold and Lydia (nee Henshel) Steinke. The family lived in Winnipeg while Esther was a child and she began school there. Esther later moved with her parents to Cavalier, North Dakota, then to Morris, Manitoba and finally in 1924 settled in the Willowbrook
district of Saskatchewan. Esther attended public school in Redimno, Phone Hill and Orkney. Following Grade School Esther helped with running the family household. She then moved back to Winnipeg for four years where she got a job as a seamstress at the Kilroy Blouse factory and also worked in the kitchen at Trans Canada Air. Esther was never one to stay idle and when work became scarce at Kilroy, Esther moved to Edmonton to attend one year of Bible School. In 1949 Esther's sister-in-law, Louella
(Dies) Steinke invited Esther to join her in Mistawasis, SK where Louella was a Registered Nurse. Esther was to fill a temporary position as a Nurses Aid but it turned out to be Esther's full time career. She trained and worked as a Nurses Aid in the communities of Mistawasis, Onion Lake, La Ronge and Pelican Narrows. While in Mistawasis, Esther lived in the ten bed hospital and was often left with the responsibility of being in charge and making all the decisions for the care of her patients when the Registered Nurse was called away. The nearest Doctors were 60 miles away in Prince Albert and telephones only opened at 7 a.m. with no phones available all during the night. Esther found her nursing experiences challenging but very enjoyable and rewarding. Esther recalled one experience of delivering the baby of a fourteen year old girl in an airplane over Montreal Lake. While working at Onion Lake, they used to travel across the lake during breakup in a bucket that you stood in and got pulled across the lake by pulley. Another special time was the two years she spent with a nurse from New Zealand in Pelican Narrows. In addition to nursing, Esther taught Sunday School and had the opportunity to work with many children. In 1953 Esther took a transfer to Fort Qu' Appelle, SK and later to Yorkton where she worked for the Yorkton Union Hospital for 12 years before retiring in 1980. Esther was brought up in a Christian home and was saved in the Evangelical Church in Yorkton at the age of 14. She was Baptised in the Grant Memorial Baptist Church, Winnipeg, Manitoba. She took classes in Child Evangelism and spent years teaching Pioneer girls in Fort Qu'Appelle and Discover Club in Yorkton. Esther was an experienced knitter and taught the skill to many young girls. Esther and her siblings had all learned to knit from their father and knit their own socks and mittens each winter. If they lost one or put a hole in them, they just knit another pair. Esther was also an accomplished, gardener, canner and crafter. Esther had a sharp wit and keen sense of humor both of which were still very much in evidence even following her recent heart attack. Esther passed away on Monday, October 1, 2012 at the Yorkton & District Nursing Home, Yorkton,
SK. She was 93 years of age. Esther was predeceased by brothers, Arthur in 1961, Roy in 1973 and Fred in 1994; sister, Elsie Griffin in 2009 and sister Ruth in 2012 as well as one sister in infancy. Esther is survived by brother-in-law, John Griffin of Yorkton, SK and sister-in-law, Laura Weippert, as well as many nieces and nephews. Funeral Services were held on Thursday, October 4, 2012 from the Chapel of Christie's Funeral Home in Yorkton, SK with Pastor Richard Gibson officiating. Soloist, Amanda Buhler, shared two selections, "I'm Sheltered in the Arms of God" and "My Lord and I Walk Along Together". The Interment service followed in the Yorkton City Cemetery with Gerald Steinke, Collin Liebrecht, Donna Liebrecht and Karen Hierlihy serving as the casket bearers. Friends so wishing may forward their condolences to the family by visiting www.christiesfuneralhome.com. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Christie's Funeral Home & Crematorium, Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
