Memorial
Esther Caroline Kahler, 102, formerly of Cedar Rapids, entered eternal life May 23, 2017, at her home in Portland, Oregon. Funeral Service: 11:30 am Saturday, June 3, 2017 at Cedar Memorial Chapel of Memories. A visitation will be held from 4-7 pm Friday, June 2, 2017 at Cedar Memorial Funeral Home. Burial: Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery.
Esther was born February 15, 1915 in Iowa County, Iowa, to Ernest and Anna (Uthoff) Volz. She graduated from Norway High School. On April 10, 1940, she was married to Everett Louis Kahler. Their union was blessed with 68 years of special love and commitment.
Survivors include her daughter, Phyllis Kahler of Portland, OR; two grandchildren, Jeanine Kahler of Portland, OR, Bryan Craven of Calgary, Canada; three great-grandchildren, Erika (Joel) Olson of Newhall, John Craven of Cedar Rapids, and Maeve Kahlersosa, Portland, OR; three great-great-grandchildren, Carson Flint, Hadley, and Grant Olson; sister-in-law, Mildred Koenig; brother-in-law, Donald Kahler; and several special nieces and nephews, plus numerous cousins with whom she enjoyed close relationships.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; son-in-law, Norman Richmann; grandson, Michael Craven; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Eva & Hubert Smith and Anna Mae & Dale Wanamaker; a brother in infancy; brothers-in-law, Frederick Koenig, Floyd, Ivan and Howard Kahler; and sisters-in-law, Shirley & Marguerite Kahler and Mary Volz.
Everett and Esther farmed for more than 30 years near Norway, Ely and Martelle. In later years Esther also helped her special friend, Marie Stumpff, at the Colony Cone in Amana.
Esther was a member of Grandview Church in Oregon and former member of Eastview Christian and St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Marion, where she enjoyed the fellowship of the St. Mark’s Quilters. She was a former Vice President of her ancestral Lenox Township Church of the New Jerusalem.
In addition to being a devoted wife, Esther was a dedicated and loving mother and grandmother who gave unselfishly. Memories of Esther will be treasured always and she will be greatly missed by all those whose lives she has touched.
In lieu of flowers, memorial funds have been established to the Lenox Township Church of the New Jerusalem, Attn: Thomas Hart, 1107 12th Street NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 or the Lenox Cemetery, Attn: David Uthoff, 415 B Avenue West #283, Walford, IA 52351.