Esther May Hill

Esther Kinkade Hill was born September 23, 1923, on Dyer Hill in Douglas County to Fred and Edith Alexander. She came to Wenatchee with her parents and brother when she was three years old. She attended the original Lincoln Grade School, Wenatchee Junior and Senior High School, graduating in 1941. She attended Wenatchee Business College and after graduating, went to work for the Farm Security Administration, where during a five year span, she held the position of County Clerk under Bernard Mercer and Elmer J. Theythman, and later as District Clerk under Benjamin Phipps. From 1946 to 1948, she was Secretary to Ralph Belyea and James Fraser, managers of Wenatchee Beebe Orchard Co. It was during this time, when she met and married Horace Kinkade, who owned and operated a 40 acre apple orchard and packing shed on Sunnyslope. She retired from Beebe Orchard Co. in the summer of 1948. In 1951, they sold the ranch and moved into their new home in Wenatchee, at which time, they also acquired a 57 acre apple and cherry orchard at Orondo. Here they packed, stored and shipped apples for other growers as well as themselves, under the label of Pine Canyon Fruit Co. In 1957, Esther went to work for the Washington State Apple Commission. At the time of her retirement in 1984, she held the position as Executive Administration Assistant to the manager, Joe Brownlow. Mr. Kinkade passed away in November 1987, as well as Esther's mother, Edith Alexander, in that same week. Her father, Fred Alexander, preceded them in death in 1968, and brother, Allen Alexander, in December 2010. In 1989, Esther remarried C.M. "Kay" Hill in Reno, NV. Mr. Hill passed away in November, 1999. She is survived by a daughter, Nancy and husband, Bradley Leff of Seattle; granddaughter, Christi (Leff) Voos of Seattle; daughter, Diana Leonard of Kent; granddaughter, Michelle (Leonard) Mitchell of Lakewood; great-grandson, Mekhi Leonard; stepson, Gary Kinkade and wife, Mary Lynn of Deer Park; two step-granddaughters, Carmen Sykes of Cle Elum and Crystal Nolan of Monroe; niece, Terri Guess and husband, Paul of Bonsall, CA; nephew, Ken Alexander and wife, Nicole of Minden, NV; and grandniece, Stacy Coons and husband, Lon of Spring Valley, CA. Esther loved flowers, dancing, golf, music, bridge, cooking, Japanese bunka needlework and strawberry-rhubarb pie. She was a member of Fun Seekers Women's Group, a member of WA Alpha Nu Chapter of Phi Sigma Alpha and member of Trinity United Methodist Church. A Memorial Service will be held at Telford's Chapel of the Valley, Monday, July 30, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. Memorials may be made to Wenatchee Valley Humane Society or a charity of choice. Arrangements are by Telford's Chapel of the Valley, East Wenatchee, WA.

Esther May Hill

September 23, 1923 - July 20, 2012