Esther Wedel was born on February 16, 1917, at Tampa in Marion County, Kansas. She lived beyond her eighty-sixth birthday and passed away quietly and peacefully at her home near Brooksville, Mississippi, on September 15, 2003.
Her parents were Cornelius and Elizabeth Dirks Nichols. Her father died when she was eight years old, and her mother passed away about five years later. This left her without her own home until March 13, 1938, when she married our father, John Wedel. She appreciated her home and was a dedicated homemaker. Grandchildren and other visitors often mentioned a special sense of security in their home.
Mother spent most of her youth years at Greensburg, Kansas. She responded to the call of her Savior and gave her heart to Him. She was baptized at Greensburg, Kansas, on February 3, 1931, and remained a faithful member of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite.
Our parents made their living by farming near Copeland, Kansas. In 1955, Dad was called by the Salem Congregation to serve as a deacon. In 1960, the congregation ordained him to the ministry. This created a new level of service for Mother, also, and she fulfilled it with joy. Counseling and visiting required a large amount of their effort, which she readily gave. She rendered a gracious hospitality, even when it went beyond her duty. In 1966, they moved to Brooksville, Mississippi, to pastor the new congregation at Macon, Mississippi. She enjoyed her life here.
In April of 2002, her health needs required a move to the Oakwood Manor in Brooksville, Mississippi. Mother and Dad received excellent care. She was lonesome for her own home, and it was finally possible for them to return there. Since May of this year she has been cared for by Amy Koehn of Durham, Kansas.
Those left to cherish special memories are her sorrowing husband, John Wedel, Brooksville, Mississippi; three sons: Errol and his wife, Mae, Sun City, Arizona; Merle and his wife, Sharon, Bradley, Arkansas; and Eldon and his wife, Marlene, Brooksville, Mississippi; one daughter, Jane, and her husband, Stanley Giesbrecht, Brooksville, Mississippi; twelve grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren; one sister, Leah Unruh, Montezuma, Kansas.
Her husband's parents, six brothers, and six sisters preceded her in death.
Funeral services were conducted at the Brooksville Congregation, Brooksville, Mississippi, on September 19, 2003. Officiating ministers were Gladwin Koehn, Don Seiler, and Kendall Jost. Burial was in the nearby church cemetery.