Esther Alspach, 88, loving mother, devoted wife and chihuahua lover, aka The Godmother, peacefully passed on July 17, 2020, after successfully beating every life expectancy estimate given to her by multiple nephrologists, who graciously suffered her wrath upon delivering the news. Too stubborn to give up, and too determined to not leave her children or her chihuahua “Minnie” alone in the world, Esther ruled every day with care, love and determination. 

In her youth, she was a certified X-ray technician, accomplished businesswoman and pianist. It was at this time that Esther met and then later married Floyd Alspach in St. Louis. Esther was a devoted wife and full-time mother to her four children. She thrivingly morphed into every child’s personal tutor which contributed greatly to each of their successes. Esther’s meals were legendary and timing of said dinners were marked in stone as an event that could never be missed, or tardy for, as it was the crux of the family discussion and connection for the day. 

As a widow at 56, she raised her two youngest preteen daughters on her own into successful adulthood. Esther never remarried, as Floyd was the love of her life. As God would have it, He blessed Esther and Floyd with three generations of children deciding that each child would be eleven years apart from each other, except for the youngest who came along shortly thereafter to commemorate their 25th wedding anniversary, and to add a bit more excitement to the upcoming retirement years. 

Esther lived in St. Louis in her early years and eventually moved to Waterloo up until Floyd’s retirement from the Alton & Southern Railroad in 1986, after which they hightailed it south and excitedly became Florida residents. 

Esther was a godly woman, who always put her family first and gave thanks every day for all of His blessings, big and small. She found immense joy in seeing her children thrive and gave everything of herself for the pursuit of that pleasure. It is believed that a stronger woman could not be found for comparison, nor a louder Italian voice could be found outside of Luciano Pavarotti. Her life’s path, at times harder than most, led her to true love and the wonders of motherhood of which a best-selling instruction manual could have been written therefrom. Her wisdom and love will be passed on to her children’s children and her name will live in infamy as Esther, The Godmother to generations to come. She passed surrounded by family and blissfully reaching for Floyd at the very end.

Esther is survived by her children Deborah, Scott, Amy and Ann along with seven grandchildren (Matthew, Angie, Enzo, Liam, Noah, Ava and Remington) and two great-grandchildren (Kaitlyn and Haley).