Esther Kirchmeier

Esther Marie Kirchmeier, 83, Bismarck, passed peacefully of natural causes on July 5, 2010, at Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center, Bismarck. Services will be held at 11:00 am Friday at Bethel Lutheran Church, 615 E. Turnpike Avenue, Bismarck, with Rev. Tim Jenks officiating. She will be laid to rest next to her husband, Ted, at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Bismarck. Visitation will be held from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm Thursday, July 8, 2010, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck. Esther Tesky was born September 29, 1926, the daughter of John and Lydia Guthmiller Tesky, at her parents’ home north of Beulah, ND. She attended rural school through eighth grade and continued on to graduate from Beulah High School. Esther married Theodore “Ted” Kirchmeier on October 22, 1944, in Beulah. They farmed near Beulah for a short time then moved to Tacoma, WA, from there lived in Helena, MT, for a short time until returning to Beulah in 1953. They operated a restaurant in Beulah until 1959 and moved to Bismarck in 1960. Esther’s main career in Bismarck was the manager of the fabric department at Tempo Department Store. This put her right in the middle of one of her passions, sewing. Esther was an excellent seamstress and was known to tackle the largest projects including wedding dresses, formal gowns, men’s suits, as well as making sure her girls were always dressed in the latest fashion. After the death of Ted in 1982, Esther moved to Rapid City, SD, to be near her youngest daughter, Pam and family. In 1985, she married Ervin Kirschenmann. They lived on a ranch in the Black Hills near Nemo until 1994 when they moved to Rapid City where they lived until Erv’s passing in 2005. Esther remained in Rapid City for a short time until moving back to Bismarck in the spring of 2007. Along with her love of sewing, she enjoyed cooking and entertaining, and most of all her grandchildren. She will be remembered by her grandchildren for her big hugs, special strudel, and her always full candy jar.She is survived by her children, Theodore and MaryAnn Kirchmeier, Cynthia and James Vollmer, Tammara and Blair Wiedrich, Pamela and Gregory Scherr, and Patricia and Steve Jessen; twelve grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; six stepchildren and their families; and four of her five sisters, Alta Reinhardt, Adaline Ziemann, Delores Renz, and Betty Mae Hausauer. Go to www.parkwayfuneral.com to share memories of Esther and to sign the online guestbook.

Esther Kirchmeier

September 29, 1926 - July 5, 2010