Ishpeming – Esther Ahlstrom age 100, of 220 Marble St. in Ishpeming, passed away on Monday May 29, 2017 at the Eastwood Nursing Center while in the loving care of her family and the Eastwood staff.

Esther was born September 20, 1916 in Princeton, MI to the late John and Anna (Lukkarila) Erickson, who both were born in Finland. She grew up second youngest in a family of 11 children in Princeton where she attended Princeton, Austin, and Gwinn Schools through the 9 ^th grade. Esther married John Ahlstrom of Gwinn in June of 1935. They had 2 children together- Ann Ahlstrom Haseltine and John F. Ahlstrom.

Esther enjoyed crocheting afghans, making pinecone wreaths and trees for Christmas, weaving rag rugs on a loom, gardening her beautiful flower gardens, she was an excellent baker, she enjoyed activities at Bethel Lutheran Church where she was a lifelong member and was the oldest living member up to the time of her death. She attended church faithfully, going to all the Sunday services by the church van after her husband John passed away. Esther will always be remembered for her strong Finnish SISU. Esther was an enigma, predictably unpredictable. To her last days she was making her own decisions about what she needed to do and she even was wanting a new pair of shoes, she always wanted to look her best, making sure that her teeth were in just hours before the pastor came before her death.

Esther had the awesome experience of writing her own book at the age of 99, telling of her life growing up in Princeton during the depression years. Her long time faithful friend and caregiver Mary accomplished writing the book through their chats and visits over coffee, Mary taking notes while Esther told her stories about her life. She sold/gave away over 100 copies of her book. Esther was interviewed by TV6 about writing her book at the age of 99, and had her segment ran three separate times by the news station.

We will miss our Mom a lot, but know that she is where she has wanted to go for quite a while, in heaven with her husband John and her mother. She made it work at the nursing home but that is not where she wanted to be.

Esther is survived by her 2 children- Ann M. Haseltine of Ishpeming, John F. (Addie) Ahlstrom of Lake Placid, FL, 5 grandchildren- Linda Covey of Grandby, CO, Craig (Lori) Ahlstrom of Lake Placid, FL, Leslie (Clay) Hardman of Connecticut, Kathy Fuller of Stuart, FL, Patty (Tim) Sparlin of Sacramento, CA, 3 great grandchildren- Lierin of FL, Josh and Zach Sparlin of CA, 5 great-great grandchildren- Addison Hardman of CT, Logan, Trey, Carter, and Kaislie all of FL. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband John Ahlstrom, 6 brothers, 4 sisters, and great grandson Connor J. Ahlstrom.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Mary Hytinen for the many years of love and friendship she gave to Esther, as well as Willie and Lori Olgren for their support and friendship they gave to Esther over the years.

The family will greet relatives and friends from 10:00am until 11:00am on Saturday June 3, 2017 at the Bethel Lutheran Church in Ishpeming. Funeral services will be held at 11:00am with Rev. Lauri O. Maki and Rev. Tom Wickstrom officiating. A luncheon will follow in the church hall.

Memorials may be directed to the Bethel Lutheran Church, or the Eastwood Nursing Center in Memory of Esther.

The funeral service recording, when it becomes available, can be found here .