Esther M. Lentz's Obituary
Esther M. Lentz, age 90, of Lewes, DE passed away on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at Beebe Healthcare in Lewes. She was born on September 18, 1924 in Ridgway, PA, daughter of the late John William and Alma H. (Yonkie) Frederick.
She was the 3rd child of 11 children. She loved to tell stories of living on the farm with her family and helping her mother care for the younger siblings. Her father and uncles would hold barn dances for the family and neighbors living on German Settlement Road in Ridgway, PA. She recalled that her Uncle Reinholt would drive them to school and sometimes required them to have mules pull the bus through heavy snows just to leave their neighborhood and have to do it again to get them back home a few hours later. It was a hard life, but one she remembered fondly. Esther left school in the 11th grade to go to work to help her family during WWII.
Esther was married on September 16, 1967, to Marvin Gerald Lentz, of Austin PA, at the First Lutheran Church in Ridgway, PA
Following her retirement in 1982, Esther proudly pursued getting her GED to obtain her high school diploma equivalent.
She received many awards and recognition for her work as a volunteer after her retirement. She initially worked for the Office of the Aging in Montour Falls, NY, and later volunteered there, helping with aging programs. She also offered her time with volunteering at the Hector Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, the American Cancer Society and the local food bank.
Esther began working at the original location of Sylvania Electronics in 1941, located in Emporium, PA, during WWII. She made radio tubes for the war effort and later she made early television tubes as the technology was evolving. She was employed there for 41 years, until 1982, when Phillips Electronics bought control of the company and began downsizing. She was forced to retire at age 58. She decided to move from her home on Sizerville Road in Emporium, to Hector, NY and bought the property where her fraternal grandmother and uncles lived until their deaths and the property became available. She resided on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes Region of NY on Peach Orchard Point Road for almost 30 years, maintaining the cherry orchard planted by her uncle for as long as possible. Many of the same people returned annually in early July for cherry picking season. She loved talking with them when they returned to see her each year.
As it became harder for her to live alone in NY, she moved to Fox Manor senior apartments in Kersey, PA, in 2013 to live near her sister, Katherine. She stayed less than a year, before relocating to Rehoboth Beach in October 2013, to Brandywine Seaside Assisted Living in Rehoboth Beach, to be closer to her daughter and family in Delaware.
Esther fully enjoyed her retirement years. She loved to travel and would spend several months in Florida with her sister, Hazel, each year in the 1990s, and traveled to New Mexico several times with her sister, Marion, to visit her niece. She was not afraid to drive herself from NY to PA or MD to visit family over the years. She made her last big trip to Alaska with her family in 2004 for her 80th birthday! Her greatest passion was gardening. She loved her flower gardens and was always looking to add new plants to her collection each year. She welcomed the earliest crocus and daffodil and mourned the last blooms of her asters and annuals. Esther discovered a talent for drawing and painting once she had time to take some art classes. She painted several pictures from photographs for herself and family. For many years she made ceramics, a hobby she rekindled while at Brandywine. She was a wonderful baker and enjoyed making Christmas cookies each year. She took take decorating classes and made specialty cakes for many of her family’s birthdays for many years. She will be remembered fondly for her needlework crafts. She loved to crochet, quilt and embroider. She always had an ongoing project (or ten) in her sewing basket or tucked away for tomorrow. Many of her quilts, afghans and pillowcases will be remembered by her family for years to come. She was proud of her work and would often tell people, “I made that”, when they asked about her quilts in her apartment at Brandywine.
Esther was a member of the First Lutheran Church in Ridgway, PA until her move to NY. She was most recently a member of the Hector Presbyterian Church.
In addition to her parents, Esther was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin Lentz, December 23, 1975, a grandson, Ronald William Hostetlar, March 16, 2010; her brothers Clarence Frederick and his wife Frances, Richard Frederick; her sisters Marion Frederick Salvatore and her husband Joseph Salvatore, Shirley Frederick Rhines and her husband James Rhines, Alice Frederick Lang and her husband William Lang and three brothers in-law, Herman Taylor; Millard Williams; Robert Kline.
Esther is survived by her two daughters, Terri Frederick Rumble and her husband Warren of Lewes, DE and Donna Lentz Hostetlar and her husband Ronald of Austin, PA; six grandchildren: Warren Frederick (Rick) Rumble of Lewes; Adrienne Rumble of Bethesda, MD, Elizabeth Rumble Sargent and her husband Nicholas of Clarksburg, MD; Matthew Hostetlar and his wife Dianne of Virginia Beach, VA; Scott Hostetar and his wife Tracy of Austin, PA; Amanda Hostetlar Crumrine and her husband Scott of Austin, PA; eight great-grandchildren: Jonathan and Derek Hostetlar of Virginia Beach, VA; Dakota, Brandon, Kellie Jo and Kyler of Austin, PA, and Bennett and William of Clarksburg, MD; five sisters, Hazel Frederick Taylor of St. Marys, PA; Grace Frederick Williams of Emporium, PA; Katherine Frederick Kline of Kersey, PA; Doris Frederick Haag and her husband Raymond of Punxsutawney, PA; Marjorie Frederick Rhines and her husband Jack of N Ft Myers, FL; one sister-in-law Cathy Frederick of Hector, NY and many nieces, nephews and cousins .
A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, May 1, 2015 at 11 AM at the Austin United Methodist Church, 26 Turner Avenue, Austin, PA 16720.
Please sign Esther's online guestbook at this site.
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