FAMILY PLACED OBITUARY

ESTHER I. RIAN
$nameESTHER I. RIAN Esther I. Rian died Oct., 16, 2014, in her 100th year. Born March 23, 1915, in St. Paul, Minnesota, the oldest child of the Rev. Olaf B. and Alma Tufte, her childhood was spent in Montana and southern Minnesota. She received her B.A. in English from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, where she was a member of the world-renowned St. Olaf Choir. In 1939, she married her college classmate, Norman D. Rian; they were each the most important person in the other's life for more than 72 years. They lived in Tonawanda, NY and Hanover, NH, before moving to Hawaii in 1946. Esther earned her M.A. degree at the University of Hawaii in 1963. A life-long teacher, she taught at the Univ. of Hawaii, Manoa campus, was president of the Women's Campus Club, and taught high school English at Roosevelt and Kamehameha Schools before serving as a docent at the Honolulu Academy of Arts for more than 25 years. A charter member of Calvary Lutheran Church, she sang in the choir and was president of the congregation. In later years, she was a member of Community Church of Honolulu and sang in the choir there also. Predeceased by her husband Norman, 3 sisters and a brother, she is survived by her daughters Linnea Peterson (Stephen), Penny Robicheau, Heidi Rian (Steven Oppenheimer), Dikka Rian (Douglas Nusbaum), 8 grandchildren, 5 great-grand- children, sisters and brothers- in-law Margaret Ann and Charles Anderson, Helen Andrewson, and Gerald Rian, and many nieces and nephews. A celebration of her life will be held Tuesday, Nov. 18 at Community Church of Honolulu, 2345 Nuuanu Ave, at 10:00 AM. Aloha attire. No flowers, please. Memorials may be directed to St. Francis Hospice or the Honolulu Museum of Art.

Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased

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