Esther M. Webb

Esther passed away March 21, 2013, in Alamogordo.
She was born November 27, 1914, in Banner, Oklahoma to Adolph and Emma (Freese) Lechtenberger and was the youngest of eight children.
Esther graduated from Classen High School in the Class of 1933 and continued her education at Blackwood Davis Business College and New Mexico State University.
During her lifetime, Esther had been employed by the Daily Oklahoman newspaper, Letzisizers Manufacturing Jewelers, Black and Decker, The Murray Corporation, Social Security Administration, U.S. Army Signal Corps and Fox Photo. She also sold Avon and Stanley Home Products for many years and found this a great way to meet new friends.
Esther married Richard C. (Dick) Webb on May 28, 1938, in Oklahoma City, and together they moved to Baltimore and Dayton, Ohio, before arriving at Holloman Air Force Base in 1952. Dick retired from his Air Force Civil Service career as an electronics engineer in 1970.
Esther was a talented seamstress having graduated from The National School of Dress Design. She also was a certified Master Knitter, an avid quilter, and organized a quilting group that made numerous quilts for COPE, the local domestic violence shelter. Through the years, she won a number of awards for sewing projects.
She was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church, where she had served as a Sunday School teacher, founder of the church's bookstore and chairman of the Christmas Bazaar for many years. Esther also was a member of Rebekah's Lodge, Otero County Extension Club and Alamogordo Woman's club, where she served as club president and was named their very first "Woman of the Year." In 2003, she was named one of the Alamogordo Boys and Girls Club "Mothers of the Year."
Esther was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to many. She will be remembered for her kind and generous spirit - as one who gave so much and asked for so little.
Her optimistic attitude about life - even in the face of adversity - and her ability to tackle any problem head on certainly set the pattern for her children and others to follow. Her greatest legacy, however, was the example of her unwavering faith in God, which was her guide through life.
Esther was preceded in death by her parents, siblings and husband, Dick, of nearly 61 years.
Esther is survived by her son, Richard C. Webb, Jr., and his wife, Deborah, of Visalia, Calif., and daughter Catherine Ann (Cathy) Messer and her husband Tommy of Alamogordo.
Grandchildren include Robert Webb and his wife Kerri of Muncie, Ind., William Webb and his wife Sara of Muncie, Ind., Michele Rutter and her husband of Las Vegas, Nev., Catherine Webb of Visalia, Calif., Kyle Messer of Alamogordo, Courtney Messer of Alamogordo and her fiance Jeremiah Williams of USAFA, Colorado.
Great grandchildren include Abigail Webb of Muncie, Ind., and Charlotte and Cooper Rutter of Las Vegas.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 26, 2013, in the Chapel of the Hamilton-O'Dell Funeral Home with Fr. Scott Ruthven officiating. Visitation will be from 5-7 pm on Monday, March 25.
Interment will be in the Monte Vista Cemetery.
Memorials may be sent to The Senior Companion Program, 2201 Puerto Rico Avenue, Alamogordo, NM 88310. This program greatly enriched and benefited Esther's quality of life in her last years.
The Webb family has entrusted their loved one to the care of Hamilton O'Dell Funeral Home to direct the funeral services.
To sign the online register book, please visit www.hamiltonodell.com.