Esther B. West

Esther B. West (Dahl) passed away Feb. 5, 2016, surrounded by the love of her family. She was born March 27, 1923, in Seattle, Washington, to Borghild and Emil Dahl (Lauritsen).

She and her husband, Wm W. E. West, won the All-City Dance there and loved to do West Coast Swing Dance. They married and had four children. They moved to Alaska with the military and homesteaded up the Knik River in 1950. They then went where the military sent them over the years and retired back to the Valley in the late 1960s and lived here since then.

Esther took the job as assistant curator and gift store manager at the Dorothy G. Page Museum in Wasilla in the 1980s and worked there until she retired. She enjoyed showing people the area’s past and especially enjoyed showing classes of children through the museum. After she retired, she enjoyed spending time with her family and friends. She traveled to Europe, Hawaii and enjoyed visiting her son and his family in California. She served on the Butte Community Council as treasurer over the years. She was a strong, classy lady full of love who lived her life well. She spent her final two years in the loving care of her family.

She was pre-deceased by her husband, Wm. W. E. West; her son, Jack T. West; and grandson, Jack T. West II. She is survived by Lonnie and R’Dell (West) Wolff, Wm. W.E. West II and Holly, and by John and R’Nita (West) Rogers. She leaves eight grandchildren, Aurora, Lisa, Amanda, William, Joshua, Bill, Bud and Mark, as well as 15 great-grandchildren. Her love and cheerful presence will be missed by all.