Esther Jean Connell

Esther Jean (DeLong) Connell, 78, of Spencer, passed away at the Spencer Hospital on August 30, 2010, after a courageous 10 year battle with cancer. Esther was born May 14, 1932 in Jackson County, Minnesota to Russell F. and Dagmar (Bak) DeLong. They moved to Iowa in '38 and she started country school in Dickinson County, Iowa. Esther graduated from Spirit Lake High School in 1950 and worked at the Northwestern Light and Power Company. She later worked as Deputy Clerk of Court in Dickinson County for 2 years. Esther worked at the North Y Livestock Auction for 25 years, sometimes working at both auction barns in Spencer. On April 2, 1956, she married Lawrence H. Connell at Nashua, Iowa in the Little Brown Church. Esther and Larry have lived in Spencer all their married lives. To this union, three children were born: Craig, David, and Lauri. While the children were in school, Esther was involved in PTA, Cub Scouts, and Sunday and Bible School. Esther was an avid reader, an active genealogist, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and served on the Library Board of Trustees from 1984 to 2010. As a genealogist, she found members of both her and Larry's families in Europe and the family has made numerous trips to visit these relatives in Europe, several taking place in the past 10 years with two of her children. As a result, relatives from Denmark and Germany have also visited Esther, Larry, and their famiies in the U.S., and wonderful friendships and bonds have been formed with family from afar due to her love for geneology. Esther is survived by her husband, Lawrence (Larry) of Spencer; children, Craig Connell (Jill) of Lenexa, Kansas; David Connell of Guttenberg, Iowa; Lauri Connell Cullen (Gary) of Luxemburg, Wisconsin; and stepdaughter Debbie (John) Lackey of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. There are 7 grandchildren: Ben (Amanda) Connell, Nick Connell, Chris Connell, Patrick Connell, Matthew Connell, Kathryn Connell and Samuel Connell Thorne. There are 2 brothers also surviving: Russell (Danny) DeLong of Milford, Iowa and Steven (Jan) DeLong of Mason City, Iowa. She is also survived by a sister-in-law Esther (Dean) McSpadden of Austin, Texas, and nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents. The family would like to give a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Dvorak, Dr. Rao (Esther always said "I love that woman!"), and the rest of the staff at the Abben Cancer Center for their care, support, and friendship. In lieu of flowers, Esther requested memorial donations be made to the Abben Cancer Center in Spencer or the Iowa Lakes Geneology Society.

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