Esther Louise Friend's Obituary
Esther MacNeill Friend, age 94, of Lewes, DE, passed away on Saturday, July 18, 2015, 10 days shy of her 95th birthday at Beebe Medical Center in Lewes. She was born in Attleboro, MA, on July 28, 1920, daughter of the late Robert James and Florence Emmeline (Hewes) MacNeill.
Esther graduated from Plainville High School (Massachusetts) in 1938. She received her BA from Oberlin College, OH in 1943. Esther then married, produced two sons, and simultaneously earned a MEd in Secondary Education at Temple University in 1957. She also continued Post Graduate studies at Temple University and the University of Vermont. The degree led to years of teaching and counseling in public schools. She then took early retirement to return to Plainville to care for her parents in the house where she had grown up.
Esther moved to Delaware, built her home in Georgetown, and worked for a law firm there as a title-searcher. It was during those years that she returned to theatre work as an actress, backstage dogsbody, and also directing at the Milton Theater and at Possum Point Players in Georgetown. A convinced Quaker, she enjoyed writing, having published “Living Happily in the Great Depression and Beyond.” Her last engagement was July 8th of this year when she spoke to a packed house at the Unlikely Story bookstore in Plainville about her book and growing up there during the depression.
In addition to her parents, her loving husband, Donald Russell Friend, a sister, Miriam Hutchinson and her husband Robert, preceded her in death. She is survived by her sons, Douglas Friend and his wife Vicki of Lewes, and Larry Friend and his wife Masha of Oak Orchard; three grandsons, Christopher Spillman, Daniel Spillman and his partner Chrissy, and Jesse Friend; two great-grandsons, Lucas and Henry; a nephew, David Hutchinson and his wife Kaki and a niece, Beth Piper and her husband Arnie. She will be sorely missed for her humor, wisdom and candor by her family and many friends who loved her dearly.
Funeral Services will be private. A memorial evening in her honor is currently being planned and will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Esther’s name to the Possum Point Players, P.O. Box 96, Georgetown, DE 19947, the site of her last appearance playing a character other than herself.
Please sign Mrs. Friend’s online guestbook at this site.
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