Esther Anne Panko

1937 - 2011

April 10, 1937 - August 29, 2011. We gather in the light of the resurrection to celebrate the life of Esther Panko. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, niece and friend.

Esther was born Esther Anne Nobbe on April 10, 1937 to Edward and Bertha Nobbe at their farm home near Pleasant Valley, Oklahoma. She went to be with her Savior on Monday, August 29, 2011, in Oklahoma City after a short battle with cancer.

Esther grew up in Pleasant Valley on a farm with her parents, older brother Wendell and younger sister Norma, and attended a one room school through eighth grade. Esther graduated Valedictorian from Coyle High School in 1955 where she was active in FHA. She attended St. John's College in Winfield, KS for one year before working in Oklahoma City and Dallas, TX.

Esther married Robert Paul Panko on September 4, 1965. The couple soon moved to Oklahoma City where the first of their two sons was born. In 1971 they moved to Muskogee, OK and Esther became a full time homemaker and mother as their second son was born the following year. In 2006 they moved to Edmond to be closer to their grandsons and other family.

Esther loved cooking and especially baking, always trying new recipes. She baked goodies for many church functions, family events and friends. Everyone loved her baked goods. She also loved gardening and being outside. She enjoyed her family and many relatives and especially family dinners and gatherings. She was an avid bowler. She and Robert traveled extensively and particularly enjoyed the fellowship of group travel. She and Robert celebrated their 45th anniversary by taking a Caribbean cruise with their boys and their families in 2010.

She is preceded in death by her parents Edward and Bertha, her brother Wendell and sister Norma. She is survived by her husband, Robert of Edmond; her two sons, Eddie and wife Elizabeth of Edmond, and Joe of Plano, TX; her two grandsons Ethan and Evan of Edmond as well as many other relatives and friends.

Visitation will be on Thursday, September 1, 2011 from noon to 9 P.M., at Matthews Funeral Home, 601 South Kelly, Edmond, OK 73003. Funeral service will be held at 10 A.M., Friday, September 2, 2011 at Zion Lutheran Church, 424 East Warner Avenue, Guthrie, OK 73044 with Christian burial to follow at the Pleasant Valley Lutheran Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorials be given to The Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Building Fund, Edmond, OK, or the American Diabetes Association.