Esther Victoria (Anderson) Staudacher, 88, died Monday, Sept. 24, 2007, at the Liberty County Nursing Home.
Funeral services will be 2 p. m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Chester. Burial will follow at the Chester Cemetery. Vic was born April 25,1919, in Chester. She was the second of four children born to Hulda Norling and Gustaf Algot Anderson. Vic, which became her loving nickname, grew up on a grain and cattle farm 17 miles north of Lothair. She received her formal education at the Eagle Creek country school and Chester High School. At the age of 15 Vic suffered from a severe case of polio, so much of her life from that time on was difficult and painful. Vic married George Thomas Staudacher on June 29, 1935, in Havre. They made their home in Chester where Vic worked diligently as a homemaker and mother of two sons. Vic became a widow at age 44 when her husband died of cancer on May 23, 1963. They had been married 28 years at the time of George’s untimely death. In 1967, Vic was appointed as Treasurer for the Town of Chester. In 1974, the position was changed to Treasurer and Town Clerk. She worked at the city office for a total of 16 years until her retirement in 1983. Vic remained independent and lived in her Chester home until 1996, when she suffered a debilitating stroke. Following a fiveweek hospitalization in Great Fall, she transferred to the Liberty County Nursing Home, where she resided for the past 10 years. Vic was baptized and confirmed at the Trinity Church north of Lothair. Following her marriage, she transferred her membership to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Chester, where she was also active in W. E.L.C.A. Other memberships included the V.F.W. Auxiliary, the Sons of Norway and the Chuck Wagon Band. Her hobbies were crocheting, reading, playing pinochle, bingo and working in her yard. She never missed watching the daily news and keeping up on world affairs. In her early retirement years she enjoyed traveling to see her sons and grandchildren. Vic will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, George; her youngest son, Lee Ray in 2004; a grandson, Jody; and her brothers, Herb and Vern Anderson. She is survived by her son, George “Ed” (Harriette) Staudacher of Grass Valley, Calif.; sister, Lilly Oraw of Chester; three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and numerous nephews and nieces. Undesignated memorials will be given to “Post-Polio Syndrome” research. Arrangements are by Rockman Funeral Chapel of Chester.
