Elizabeth Esbeck

Elizabeth McGaffin Esbeck, 84, a resident of 607 E. 17th St, Atlantic, Iowa, passed away Saturday, July 6, 2002, at the Atlantic Nursing and Rehab Center.The daughter of Wesley Franklin and Eliza (McGaffin) Helmts, she was born January 29, 1918 three miles north of Wiota on a farm. Elizabeth spent some of her youth in Prescott, Iowa and later returned to the Wiota area, where she graduated from the Wiota High School in 1935. She was united in marriage to Kenneth Milton Esbeck on November 16, 1938 at a farm about three miles north of Wiota. Upon marriage, they lived on a farm west of Brayton. In 1942, Elizabeth, Kenneth and Dean moved to a farm thirteen miles northeast of Atlantic where they remained for years. In 1968 Kenneth, Elizabeth and Diane moved to 607 E. 17th St where Elizabeth lived until June 25, 2002. Elizabeth was a homemaker and also a dietitian. She was employed at the Cass County Memorial Hospital for three years and at Heritage House for seventeen years, retiring in 1996. She was a member of the St. Paul's Lutheran Church, the Cloverleaf club, and the neighborhood coffee group.Elizabeth is survived by her daughter, Diane Esbeck Nichols and her husband, Glen, of Atlantic; her son, Dean Esbeck and his wife, Verna, of Atlantic; six grandchildren Katherine (Kathy) Somers and her husband, Guy, of Atlantic, Todd Esbeck of Waukee, Jill Irlmeier and her husband, Joe, of State Center, Scott Esbeck of Breda, Dwayne Lough and his wife, Kathy, of Atlantic and William Lough and his friend, Erin Richard, of Storm Lake; three great-grandchildren, Mikayla, Justin and Nadia Somers of Atlantic; her brother-in-law, Lyle Esbeck of Atlantic; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.She was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth; her father, Wesley Franklin Helmts; her mother, Eliza McGaffin Helmts; her brother, Donald Helmts and his wife, Verda; and four brothers-in-law, Leslie, Orville, Earl and Dale Esbeck.Funeral InformationFuneral services for Elizabeth will be held on Tuesday, July 9, 2002, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Atlantic at 2:00 P.M. with Pastor Bill Embree of the Exira Lutheran Church officiating. Interment will be in the Atlantic Cemetery.