Esther Emma Loomer

Esther Emma (Dumke) Loomer died on Monday, March 23, 2015, at the Roosevelt Medical Center in Culbertson, Mont.

She was born just over 100 years ago on Feb. 1, 1915, on the family farm near Fergus Falls, Minn., to William and Henrietta (Peterson) Dumke. She joined two brothers and a sister and was later joined by another brother.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 405 E 5, in Culbertson with Pastor Gretchen Wagner officiating. Interment will take place in the Hillside Cemetery in Culbertson, under the direction of Fulkerson Funeral Home of Sidney.

She attended country school and graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 1933. She was employed as a legal secretary.

On Nov. 24, 1939, she married her high school sweetheart, Francis W. Loomer. It was the year that President Roosevelt moved the Thanksgiving date earlier in an attempt to bolster retail sales during the Great Depression.

Their first home together was in Bowman, N.D., where he was teaching school and coaching. Early in their marriage, he once left her in a school gym until his team reminded him that his new wife had come along to the game.

In 1946, they settled in Glasgow. They lived there until 2010 when they moved to Culbertson to be nearer their daughter, Jill.

Esther and Francis were married for nearly 72 years. Born to this union were a son, Douglas, and a daughter, Jill.

Esther taught Sunday school and held many offices in the Congregational Church, including treasurer and chairman of the women's group. She was a 50-year member of PEO and Order of the Eastern Star, of which she was Worthy Matron. She was a 4-H leader and a Cub Scout den mother.

She enjoyed needlework, petit point, needlepoint, knitting and tatting. When Francis retired, they wintered in Mesa, Ariz., where she attended porcelain painting classes and created many beautiful pieces of her own design. She very much enjoyed reading, doing crossword puzzles and playing cards. She was an excellent cook and baked bread and other goodies on a regular basis. She was always a positive person and saw the bright side of life, being an inspiration to many.

She was preceded in death by three brothers, Arthur, Carl and Henry; a sister, Ethel; her husband, Francis; and a granddaughter, Jami Marie Herness.

Survivors include children, Douglas Loomer (Suzanne Ostrem) of Bigfork and Las Cruces, N.M., and Jill Herness and her husband, Donald, of Culbertson; a granddaughter, Lindsey, of Culbertson; and many nieces and nephews.

The family suggests a memorial gift be given to the Glasgow High School Educational Trust, c/o Jeanine A. Markle, 904 Wedum Drive, Glasgow, MT 59230-1541 or to a charity of the donor's choice. Remembrances, condolences and pictures may be shared with the family at http://www.fulkersons.com.