Esther Irene was born at home, a Halloween baby, in the year of 1929. She loved having her birthday on Halloween, a big kid at heart! Esther was born to John and Mathilda (Leinweber) Stark where she joined 2 other sisters. In the early years, the family lived in Belle Fourche then Sturgis, where Esther graduated from High School in 1947.
Esther worked in Sturgis at Chase's department store for 8 years starting right after graduation. This is where she met Duane Carstensen, who came into the store to purchase a gift for his sister. This is how they met, then their first date was to a movie in Rapid City, dating 7 years before they married! They married at Grace Lutheran Church in Sturgis on September 15, 1966, and celebrated 51 years of marriage, before Duane's passing in December 2017.
Duane and Esther traveled routinely in their early years of marriage, at a time when travel outside your state, was not so common. They honeymooned in Hong Kong, traveled to Italy the Isle of Capri, Tokyo, Japan, the Vatican in Rome, and trips to Canada.
Esther graduated from National College of Business in 1978, with a B.S. degree and continued correspondent courses for many years after. She loved continuing her education and felt education was very important.
Esther worked for Montana Dakota Utilities in the Rapid City office for about 40 years, as an Administrative Secretary. She used and excelled in short hand,' something unheard of with today's technology.
Until these last few years, Esther and Duane were on the go, loving their connections with many people in the community. They were members of the Grace Lutheran Church, Corvette club, Lawrence County Historical Society, and Model T club. Esther had a passion for music and was so proud to be a long-time member of the Sweet Adeline's Chorus group, now known as BH Showcase Chorus.
Esther Irene Carstensen, 89, of Sturgis, died May 31, 2019, at Sturgis Regional Senior Care.
She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; her siblings, Helen Kalmbach and Lavina Aga, along with a brother, Johnny who died of Typhoid fever at the age of 3.
Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Friday, June 7, 2019, at Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis, SD, with Pastor John Tesnow officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to services. Interment will follow at Whitewood Cemetery.
A memorial has been established to Grace Lutheran Church in Sturgis.

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