Esther M. Killian

Age 85, passed away Friday, January 17, 2003 at a local nursing home. Esther was born in Kaukauna on May 17, 1917, daughter of the late Louis and Augusta (Schmitz) Killian. Esther attended Mercy School of Nursing in Oshkosh, and graduated in 1938. Following graduation, she worked at Mercy Hospital in Oshkosh. In 1942, she joined the Army and served in the 44th General Hospital Unit. She did her basic training in California, then served for twenty-eight months in Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines. As a service veteran, she was automatically a Red Cross Nurse. Her affiliation with the Red Cross meant that she was first in line to help with public health emergencies. After her military service, Esther was assigned to the Tuberculosis ward at Denver’s Fitzsimmons Hospital, and later moved to Madison General Hospital where she was asked to help with the polio epidemic. Theda ClarK Regional Medical Center in Neenah was Esther’s next employment. Here she worked as the head nurse on a surgical floor for eight years. When Kaukauna built their own hospital, Esther became the director of nursing. However, at the age of thirty-nine, she left the nursing field to attend anesthesia school in Oshkosh. Upon graduation, she returned to Kaukauna as nurse anesthetist and director of nursing. In 1987, she retired from the hospital setting and began work for the Community Blood Center in Appleton where she functioned as nurse supervisor, instructor, and staff nurse.

Esther is survived by eight brothers and sisters: Mildred Gokey of La Jolla, California; Francis (Elaine) Killian of Menasha; Carol School of Freeport, Illinois; Joan (Peter) Gaigg of Greenville; Virgie Meulemans of Kaukauna; Charles (Barbara) Killian of Appleton; Thomas (Dawn) Killian of Kaukauna; Daniel (Judy) Killian of Kaukauna. She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by a sister Lorraine (Clayton) Van Asten, a brother Leo Killian, and brothers-in-law Joe Gokey, Richard School, and Vernon Meulemans.

The funeral liturgy for Esther will be held on Monday, January 20, 2003 at 10:00 AM at HOLY CROSS CATHOLIC CHURCH, 309 Desnoyer Street in Kaukauna with Fr. Jack Mullarkey officiating. Interment will be in the parish cemetery where Electric City Post #3319 of the FVW will provide military honors. Friends may call at the funeral home on Sunday from 4 – 8 PM and again Monday at the church from 9 AM until the hour of the service.

Greenwood Fargo Funeral Home
500 Hendricks Avenue
Kaukauna, Wisconsin 54130
920-766-6201