Esther Ellen Jacknewitz

Esther was born on 11 Feb 1932 in Columbia City (Fulton County), Indiana.  She was raised on a farm by her parents, Daisy and Leonard Slonaker, as the youngest of six children, three brothers and two sisters.  She was fated to be a nurse because she took care of all of her animals/pets on the farm.   

Esther was a nurse in South Bend, Indiana when she met Stanley Jacknewitz on a blind date.  They were married in 1956.  Stanley was making a career in the Air Force so they moved frequently.  Esther was a wonderful and loving mother to four children.  Unfortunately, their first child, James, passed away when he was only a day old but while they were still in South Bend, Joy was born.  The Air Force took them to Montana, where Jean was born and then to DC, where Jane was born.  The family did a tour of duty in Hawaii and then back to the DC area.  They settled in Maryland after Stan retired from the Air Force in 1970, which gave Esther the opportunity to finish her Bachelor’s degree in nursing at St Joseph College in Maine in 1983. 

Nursing was her career and she loved every part of it as she worked as an OB nurse, in the Emergency Room and in several nursing homes.  Her final and favorite job was with the P.G. County Mental Health clinics.  She worked for 17 years as a counselor until the Suitland, MD clinic closed and she retired in 1997.  She said she was ‘always a nurse’.

As time passed, all three of her daughters married loving husbands and there are now nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren who have had the blessing of knowing Mom. 

After a “final” retirement, Stan and Esther loved going on trips with their family.  Esther loved taking countless cruises, always with Stanley by her side and many with the extended family. 

She was very attached to all her pets (Charlie, Jackie, Liebchen, Peanut and Romeo) but realized her dream of owning horses, Cody and Bandit, and riding through the woods on a lazy Sunday afternoons when she and Stan lived in Upper Marlboro. 

Mom wrote down that “during childhood, I wanted three things – to be a nurse, own a convertible, and have a horse of my own.”  She accomplished all three goals.

Because of her love of animals, in lieu of flowers donations should be made to:  Rude Ranch Animal Rescue, Inc.  3200 Ivy Way, Harwood, MD  20776.