Esther Dorothea Heiden

The oldest of eight children, Esther was born on October 1, 1932, in Clovis, New Mexico, to Reverend Alfred and Lorina Allmann (Lentz). The hospital in Clovis was the closest to their home in Rhea, Texas. Esther was baptized on October 16, 1932, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Rhea.

Growing up in the remote Texas Panhandle during the Dust Bowl, Esther and her brother John were homeschooled by their father. In 1941, the family moved to White Hall in southeast Texas, where Esther, John, and later AnnaBelle attended a two-room schoolhouse—one room for grades 1–4 and another for grades 5–8. At Salem Lutheran Church in White Hall, Esther was confirmed on March 25, 1945. Her confirmation verse was Psalm 27:4: “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.”

Life in Texas was not easy. Esther recalled her mother shortening nine-foot cotton sacks so she and John could help pick cotton in the sweltering heat to support the family. She also remembered times when dandelions gathered from roadside ditches were their only dinner. Despite the hardships, Esther cherished the beauty of the Texas bluebonnet fields.

In 1945, the family moved to Battle Creek, Nebraska. At age 13, Esther briefly attended public high school before enrolling at Concordia High School in Seward, Nebraska, with her parents’ blessing. She graduated at just 16 years old and continued her education at Concordia Teachers College, earning her teaching certificate in 1951. While at Concordia, Esther sang in the A Cappella choir and fondly remembered bus trips to the East Coast, where they performed for Lutheran congregations. She maintained lifelong friendships from the choir through a round-robin letter. To help finance her education, Esther worked in the cafeteria and performed janitorial duties on campus.

In 1951, Esther accepted a teaching call at Zion Lutheran Parochial School in Kearney, Nebraska, where she taught grades 1–4. She later returned to Concordia for additional education and served as interim principal at Zion Lutheran School for one year.

While singing in the choir at Zion Lutheran Church, Esther met Virgil. The two were married on June 27, 1954. Esther cherished her time in Kearney and was warmly welcomed into Virgil’s family. In 1957, with the help of Virgil’s family, they built their home in Kearney, where they began raising their three children: Kathleen, Sharon, and Rodney.

In 1964, Esther and Virgil moved to Greeley, Colorado, where they became business partners in Bennett’s Cleaners. Instead of continuing her teaching career, Esther chose to work alongside Virgil. She wore many hats—serving at the front counter, keeping the books, inspecting garments, pressing, and sewing. They worked side by side for 35 years and shared 62 years of marriage grounded in faith, enduring love, and deep friendship.

In Greeley, they joined Trinity Lutheran Church, where Esther reconnected with friends from her Concordia days. She was deeply involved in church life, participating in choir, bell choir, Mission Circle, and the Lutheran Women’s Mission League. She also continued her passion for teaching by serving as a Sunday School teacher for over 40 years.

In her free time, Esther enjoyed hosting dinners, sewing, reading, writing, crosswords, and playing card games with family and friends. She had a special gift for encouragement, expressed through her card ministry—sending birthday, get-well, and sympathy cards to many. She also lovingly made receiving blankets for new mothers in her church, community, and family. A devoted grandmother and great-grandmother, she was affectionately known as “GG” and treasured time spent with her loved ones.

Esther lived a selfless and honorable life, faithfully serving others and working quietly behind the scenes to accomplish God’s will.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Virgil; her oldest daughter, Kathleen Heiden; her brother, Reverend John Allmann; and her sister, Ruth (Allmann) Schwartz.

Esther is survived by her daughter, Sharon Novotny (Scott) and grandson Aaron; her son, Rodney (Joni), and grandchildren Kristen (Courtney) and Bradley (Jessica); five great-grandchildren, Macie, Jaxson, Brooks, Riley, and Tatum; and her siblings, AnnaBelle Thiemann, Nell Ross, Reverend Robert “Bob” Allmann, Rose Allmann, and Jane Schroeder, along with numerous in-laws, out-laws, nieces, and nephews.

Esther loved being a parochial school teacher. In her honor, memorial gifts may be directed to Trinity Lutheran School.