Obituaries

Recent Obituaries
In Memoriam Archive

Estelle Frances Asher Wertheimer ’46

A picture of Estelle Asher Wertheimer

Estelle Frances Asher Wertheimer ’46, November 8, 2013, in Seattle, following a brief illness. Known as Stuff to her dear friends, Estelle earned a BA from Reed in psychology. Her uncle, Arthur M. Hoffman ’18, was also a Reed grad. In 1946, Estelle and Stephen Wertheimer ’48 were married; they had four children and later divorced. “Our mother wore many hats throughout her life,” Brian, Linda, Sheri, and Emily wrote. “During her college summers, she worked in a candy factory and drove a forklift truck at a naval shipyard. She always laughed when recalling those early jobs. She was assuredly a lifelong learner, an adventurous world traveler, a politically active and articulate voter, and a volunteer with the League of Women Voters for decades.” Estelle also volunteered at the Youth Service Center in the ’60s and for many years at the Seattle Art Museum Rental Loft; she was a member of the Women’s University Club. In addition, she was a gourmet cook, a green-thumbed gardener, a passionate lover of the arts and of poetry, and a dear friend to a great many people. “Of all these things, closest to our hearts is, of course, being our wonderful Mom and Gramma to Emily, her sole grandchild. She raised us solo—back when that was unusual—with love, humor, grace, and wisdom.”

Appeared in Reed magazine: September 2015

comments powered by Disqus