Obituary of Esther A. Stohl

Esther Anna Snodgrass Crowell Stohl Esther Anna Stohl was born April 13, 1919 in Olympia to James Vernon and Anna Rixe Snodgrass. Esther died at St. Peter Hospital and joined her family in heaven March 2, 2008. Esther lived in Thurston County all her life, for the last 38 years at her home on Pear Street. Her neighbors, Bryant Russell and Gary Schuldt helped her change her yard into one of the garden spots on Pear Street. Esther was born into two pioneer families of Washington. Her paternal grandparents were James A. and Esther A. (Bone) Snodgrass who settled in Vancouver, WA Territory where James A. was elected Auditor of Clarke County. When Washington became a state in 1889, he was elected the first Auditor of Clarke County, Washington. Esther’s maternal grandparents, August H. and Anna Maria (Brauer) Rixe owned about 400 acres at the intersection of Rainier Road and the Yelm Highway. As a girl, she was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church that her grandparents helped organize. Esther attended elementary schools at South Bay and Chambers Prairie and graduated from Olympia High School in 1936. Esther married Edwin Crowell in 1937 and had two sons, Charles and Stephen. They later divorced and Esther then married Don Stohl in 1960. Esther worked at the Olympia Woolworth Store with her sister Barbara when Gurnie Richardson was the manager. They were part of the “Gurnie Girls.” Esther started as a bookkeeper and then advanced to become administrative assistant to WFSCME union Executive Director Norm Schut from 1954 to 1974. Of the1960 ballot campaign to win state civil service rights, Esther said, “I wore out a couple of pair of shoes pounding the sidewalks.” Of that fateful election night (the same night JFK became president), she said, “Either we were going to drown our sorrows or celebrate. And fortunately, we could crack open the champagne and celebrate.” Esther worked for WFSCME until her first retirement. After she left the Federation, she went to work for the AFSCME area and later for the American Association of Retired Persons where she retired. She was active in Seniors Educating Seniors. Once again, she retired, this time from the Retired Teachers Association. The family often joked about all of Esther’s “retirements.” Esther enjoyed playing Scrabble with her co-workers and family for many years. She was such an expert at placing one or two tiles and getting three or four words in different directions that the family named this move an “Esther.” She was a former member of the Olympia Yacht Club and enjoyed many weekends aboard the “Crow’s Nest”. One of the favorite family stories is the day that Esther reached thirty years of age (1949) the Puget Sound area was struck by a powerful earthquake. She was on the beach at her Mud Bay home with her sons. They all watched as every clam in Mud Bay spouted a stream of water. Both of her husbands preceded her in death, as well as her sisters Barbara Foote and Ruth Mommsen. Her son Charles died in a traffic accident in 1966 and Stephen died February 20, 2008 in Rockford Illinois. Esther is survived by grandchildren Jon Crowell of Oakland CA, Charles Crowell of Lynnwood and Jeff Crowell of Kingston; stepsons Dean Stohl of Olympia and Greg Stohl of Sisters, OR, six great grandchildren and niece Julie Gott of Eugene, OR and nephew Gary Foote of Olympia. The family wishes to express their thanks for her caregivers from Catholic Community Services, especially Fran, and friends and neighbors Gary Schuldt, Bryant Russell, Annie Ozmun, Mark Foote and Liz Foote. At Esther’s request, there will be no ceremony. To leave a condolence, please click on View Guestbook below.