Esther B Nelson

One hundred and four years…

Three months…

And nineteen days…

But who’s counting?

Esther B. Nelson, loving mother, sister, aunt, and loyal friend, died August 16, 2020.

She was born April 27, 1916 in Vanstel, Montana to Louise and Daniel Bendewald. She was the fourth of 10 children in a farm-ranch family.

Upon graduation from Vananda School, where she was class valedictorian, she moved to Walla Walla, WA to attend beauty college. Thereafter she worked at a salon in the Whitman Hotel before moving to Pullman, WA, where she opened her own salon.

It was in Pullman that she met Bob Nelson whom she married on Christmas Eve 1943. Shortly thereafter they moved to the Spokane Valley, bought nine acres, put in two acres of garden and orchard and began building their house. She lived in that house until a week before her death.

As a licensed beautician and business owner, she opened a salon in her home to supplement the family’s income while her two boys were growing up. When she finally “retired,” she continued to cut and style elderly friends’ and church members’ hair at their retirement homes at no cost.

In the 50’s she sang with a local women’s chorale that performed in the Opportunity Township Hall (now the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum). She was also a church choir alto most of her life.

In the 70’s she was a Lilac Festival chaperone, helping tend the queen and her princesses on their out-of-town jaunts. While coral was her favorite color, lilac was a close second.

She always took pride in her appearance and enjoyed sports, especially tennis which she played until she was 85. She worked out with her Jane Fonda tape daily. During a three-day power outage late in 2016, she would not leave her increasingly chilly home for one with heat. Asked how she was saying warm she replied she wore multiple sweaters and every hour she’d get on her exercise machine and do 100 reps.

Her driver’s license was renewed for five years with no restrictions when she was 95.

She was a from-scratch cook who enjoyed entertaining family and friends. Crowd favorites were her lemon meringue pie, frosted angel food cake, and monster cookies (each a meal in itself), cinnamon rolls, and German/Volga-River-style dumplings. Not to mention her sweet, dill and bread-and-butter pickles.

She liked her cocoa HOT. Her coffee HOT. Her soup HOT. She loved ice cream. She loved her See’s chocolates and would not share them. Well, that’s not fair, she did share, but she picked the ONE you’d get!

Esther loved to play pinochle, pitch, whist and was a bridge fanatic. Those who played cards with her know she didn’t hate to lose much because she didn’t lose much.

She was a dedicated member of Chapter DR of PEO for nearly 70 years, helping fund scores of women’s college educations over decades. Her Chapter DR sisters titled their 100th birthday tribute to her “An Amazing Lady!” Beside her education advocacy through PEO, she was also a strong community proponent for Central Valley School District levies and was active in PTA.

She was a devoted member of Opportunity Presbyterian Church for 72 years. In her time, she served a Bible school teacher, elder, and at age 96 a “communicator” to the congregation for the new sanctuary capital fund drive. In her last decades she was a Sunday morning church service greeter, the first smiling face-of-the-church to newcomers who often became her good friends. On her 100th birthday she told local reporters she credited her longevity to the Grace of God.

Esther is survived by her sister Vera Williams (Santa Rose, CA), son Rik and wife Nance (Spokane), son Scott and Roslin (Kamuela, Hawaii) and many, many, many Bendewald nieces, nephews and their children and grandchildren.

Thank you to all the family and friends who were so supportive in her last years, months and days, to her caregivers who became family, to her doctors and nurses, and to Hospice of Spokane for helping make her passing graceful.

In lieu of a formal service at this time, please go to the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Celebrating-the-life-of-Esther-B-Nelson-107156627773580/?view_public_for=107156627773580 to share memories and photos. Or, go to www.thornhill-valley-chapel.com

Contributions in Esther’s memory may be made to Opportunity Presbyterian Church, 202 N. Pines Rd., Spokane Valley, WA 99206 and/or to the PEO, c/o Elaine Fulton, 9700 E. Holman Rd., Spokane Valley, WA 99206