Ester Haire

Wasilla resident Ester Haire, 61, died April 16, 2011, at her home.

A celebration of life service is at 2 p.m., April 28 at Valley Funeral Home Chapel, 151 E. Herning Ave, Wasilla. Burial will be at a later date at the Butte cemetery in Palmer.

Ester was born July 23, 1949, in Oceanside, Calif., to Catarino and Guadalupe (Rios) Zarate.

Ester moved to Alaska in 1995 and lived in Eagle River and Wasilla. She moved from California, where she worked as a housekeeping attendant at Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa. She worked for the Best Western Hotel and the Salvation Army as a cashier in Wasilla.

Her family said she enjoyed fishing and camping every chance she got while living in California and when she moved to Alaska. Time spent at the beach she counted among her favorite things to do. She will be remembered by her family as “Nana,” which was because she adored her grandkids who meant the world to her. Her grandson said, “She always cheered me up.”

Ester was a dominant part of her family’s life and her daughters said they don’t know what life will be like without her around to cheer them on and her love, which she showed to them.

“Her life ended too soon, but we are comforted knowing that she is now with Jesus waiting for us to join her,” her family wrote. “We loved her dearly and she will be deeply missed.”

Surviving are her sisters, Teresa Ruiz of San Diego, Calif., and Patricia Hungerford of Colchester, Conn.; and brothers, Pete and Manuel Zarate of San Diego. She is also survived by daughters, Juanita Haire and her husband Leonard Hall of Wasilla and Kristina Haire of Anchorage; granddaughters, Desiree and Nycole Sorrow of Palmer; grandsons, Christopher and Brandon Toves of Wasilla, Mark Sorrow III of Homer and Cyress Barnes of Anchorage.

Also surviving her are grandsons, Nithaniel Hall of Wasilla and Zhayne Haire of Milaca, Minn.; granddaughters, Laticka and Lenise Hall of Wasilla; great-grandson Alonzo Lindeman of Anchorage; and great-granddaughter Millie Mackie of Palmer.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Guadalupe Noblin and Catarino Zarate; her oldest grandson,

Daniel Zarato; younger grandson, Nicholas Toves; and nephew, Richard Hungerford.

Any remembrances or memorials may be sent to the family at 1556 LaTouche St. No. 1, Anchorage, AK 99501.

The family was cared for by Valley Funeral Home and Crematory of Wasilla.