Obituary of Esther Marie Evans

Esther Marie Evans

1928 - 2024

Esther Evans was born in Dickson, AB, on May 12, 1928, the second child out of eleven children born to her parents, Jacob and Martha Jensen, immigrants from Denmark.  Esther grew up speaking only Danish until she started school.  Her early years were hard, times were tough, those stories are hard to listen to.  When Esther was 6, she fell off a horse and broke her left arm.  The doctor was drunk and made a mess setting her arm so that it never straightened properly again, but she hid it well and that arm was as strong as the other. 

Esther, and her older sister, Ruth, started attending Sunday School at a very early age, and that faith carried her through many hard times.  After Esther finished school, she went to Bible School in Calgary and then trained to become a nurse.  In Bible School, she met lifelong friends, Lil Anderson, Edith Anderson and the McComish sisters, which brought her to Coronation to work at the hospital.  This is how she met her husband, Tom Evans, when he was patient there. 

Tom and Esther raised four girls:  Colleen, Margaret, Angie and Barbie.  Tom and Esther worked very hard on the family farm with milk cows, range cows and grain farming.  Yet, they still made time to take the family to church regularly and assist with the many ministry opportunities there.  Esther loved to entertain and made many meals for family and friends.  She was still assisting Margaret and Angie with meal preparation up until the end of July this year.  Esther was very strong willed and didn’t mince words.  You knew where you stood with Esther and sometimes her girls wondered why she had so many friends. 

Even with her own health struggles, she managed to keep her husband at home through his long illness and we are so thankful, her family was able to do the same for her.  Esther has suffered with arthritis for many years and finally quit walking four years ago after a fall which broke her femur on one leg and dislocated the hip on the other. 

When her eldest child Colleen died, Esther truly showed her resilience and faith in her Lord and Saviour.  As sad as this loss was to her, she stayed strong for her family.  The girls wondered who her new favorite child would be, never dreaming she would adopt Edith Thulien as her daughter and favorite.  She made a good choice. 

Esther struggled sometimes with why God kept her alive so long as she felt she was becoming a burden.  Her family told her that our only purpose on earth is to point others to Christ and when your work on earth is done, you will enter His rest.  Right up until Esther’s last breath, she enjoyed listening to her Christian music and singing along, having the Bible read to her and still telling her friends and family she wanted to see them in heaven.  Esther entered His rest on August 26, 2024, after a very painful battle.  She died peacefully in her sleep in her own home with her children by her side. 

Esther is survived by her daughters: Margaret Evans, Angie Evans and Barbie (Lyle) Berg; son-in-law Dan Kinakin and family; sisters: Dagny Horth, Inga (Dennis) Petersen, Sigrid (Ron) Van Wert and Ingrid (Jerry) Baskerville; brother Ben (Phyllis) Jensen; brother-in-law Allan Boomer; numerous nieces and nephews. 

Esther is predeceased by parents Jacob and Martha Jensen; husband Tom Evans; daughter Colleen Kinakin; sisters: Eva Boomer, Carla Jensen, Astrid Jager and Ruth Thompkins; brother Cai Jensen; parents-in-laws  Enoch and Margaret Evans; brothers-in-law: Harry Horth, Bill Jager, Merle Thompkins, Bill Stannard and Ken Jensen; sisters-in-law  Nancy Stannard and Jackie Jensen; cousin  Trevor Jones; nephews:  Dennis Jensen, Ralph Jensen, Shaun Jensen, Barry Claridge, Doug Stannard and Les Wulff and niece Solveig Runars.

Celebration of Life

Friday, August 30, 2024 at 2:00 P.M.

Coronation Community Centre, Coronation, Alberta

Memorial donations may be made to the Colleen Kinakin Biblical Scholarship Fund c/o Box 336, Veteran, Alberta T0C 2S0

or to a charity of choice.