Visitation:
5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday May 16, 2016 at
Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Home in Lincoln.
Service:
2:00 p.m. Tuesday May 17,at Steenbergen Cemetery in
Mount Pulaski,
Funeral home:
Fricke-Calvert-Schrader, Lincoln
Obituary
Esther Sophia Wilham (nee Gluick) quietly passed
away at her Peoria home at the age of 98 on
Thursday, May 12, 2016 .
Esther was born in Lincoln, Illinois into a
German-American family of twelve children (August
Gluick, Louie Gluick, Albert Gluick, William Gluick;
Louise Gluick Bock, Ella Gluick Gelbach, Regina
Gluick Broch, Marie Gluick Ruwe, Frieda Gluick,
Hilda Gluick Damerin) . Esther was the longest
surviving of those children and took pride in her
relationships with her siblings, their spouses, and
their children. Esther married Carl Wilham of Mount
Pulaski.
A wife and mother of two boys, Esther originally
trained as a hairdresser but spent the largest part
of her life as a homemaker. In a family decimated by
cancer, Esther had been a pillar of strength and
support for the many members of her family who lost
parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and
cousins to the deadly disease. She was an
accomplished gardener and master of the art of
crochet. She produced beautiful heirloom quality
work well into her 90s. She was also a creative cook
and baker who hosted many jolly holiday dinners for
friends and family. She sustained a warm and lively
sense of humor and interest in the world (even the
Chicago Cubs) until the very last moments of her
life. She was a lifelong member of Immanuel Lutheran
Church of Lincoln, Illinois. |
Esther is survived by two sons, Gary Wilham (Carol)
of Oak Park, and Greg Wilham of Gardena, CA as well
as a granddaughter Aleisa Wilham Alonso of Hermosa
Beach, CA and grandson Christopher Wilham of Oak
Park; great-grandchildren Morgan, Delaney, and
Sawyer Alonso of Hermosa Beach, CA and great nephews
Jay Haning of Morton, Brad Haning of Mackinaw, and
great niece Jill Haning Leahy of Saint Croix Falls,
Wisconsin, among many others. She was preceded in
death by her husband Carl Wilham in 1996.
Graveside services for Esther will be at 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday May 17, 2016 at Steenbergen Cemetery in
Mount Pulaski, with Rev. Candida Turner officiating.
Visitation will be from 5-7:00 p.m. Monday May 16,
2016 at Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Home in
Lincoln. Memorials may be made in Esther’s name to
The Breast Cancer Society.
Click here to send a note of condolence to the family of Esther
Wilham
|