Lasting Memories

Esther Ruth Joki
May 11, 1928-Oct. 4, 2023
Palo Alto, California

Esther Ruth Lepke was born in Drake, ND, to Wilhelm Lepke and Ida “Louise” Draeger Chole. She was the youngest of their children (Charlotte “Lottie” Lepke Krueger Jans, Walter Lepke, and Elsie Lepke Kizima) and was the only child not to have been born in Germany.

After she graduated from high school, she eventually moved to Red Lodge, MT, where she worked in the J. C. Penny store. She loved the town of Red Lodge for its natural beauty and its lively activities. She met her husband to be, George Joki, in that store. She loved to describe their first date (dinner in Cooke City, a very small town on the way to Yellowstone). They went up the Beartooth Pass (a 5,000+ ft. ascent), but on the way down, it fogged up, and they could not see the road. So in order to find the road, she had to hang out the door to listen for the sound of tires hitting the rocks by the side of the road instead of the pavement.

They were married in 1951 and eventually moved to the Bay Area by way of Bozeman, MT, Idaho Falls, ID, and San Diego, CA. They eventually settled in Palo Alto and raised their four children (Kathy, Steven, David, and Patti) there. As the children grew up, there were many picnics and camping trips with families of neighbors and friends.

During summer vacation (and the rest of the year as well) the family took camping trips to the mountains or beach. Seldom did any of the kids ever go to the first week of school, as Esther loved the quiet of the woods after school started. These later became backpacking trips when the kids got older. Those trips made her day.

Esther began working after her oldest child left for college, but once they had all left for college, she began studying at Foothill College as well. She received an A.A. degree in library work there. She held different types of jobs and made many friends along the way, but her most unusual, and interesting job was working in a home business sewing custom made corsets for men and women.

After retirement she and George took trips throughout the States; they tried to visit nearly every national park, but also traveled abroad to New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, and many countries in Europe. She especially loved the many walking trips she took in England and Scotland. The travelling and camping continued after George’s passing in 2011, but it moved closer to home. She continued going to the places she loved: the redwoods, the mountains, the bay lands, and the coast, spending as much time there as she could. They also both cherished their time watching the Stanford women’s basketball games and held season tickets for many years.

Esther and George were involved with their grandchildren’s upbringing and were always there to attend school parades, to celebrate birthdays and other life milestones, to watch their sports games, and to spend quality time with them.

Esther was a loving, helpful, generous, and adventurous woman who believed that everyone should be treated with respect and dignity. She lived her life that way.

She is survived by her four children, their spouses (Rezki Boumoula, Soonthara Hayes, and Robert Webster) and her granddaughters Kenza, Kaylee, and Elena.