BIOGRAPHY

Esther Groneman was born in Lincolnville, Kansas, on 18 December 1913, to Emil Krause (1869–1938) and Augusta Maria Elizabeth Schlesener (1876–1969). She had ten siblings: Bertha Albertina Otte (1894–1985), August Karl Heinrich (1896–1897), Ottilie Albrecht (1897–1994), Martin (1901–1998), Marie Augusta Beneke (1903–2000), Lena Albertina Albrecht (1906–1984), Martha Emilie Brockmeier (1909–2007), Wilhelm “Bill” (1911–1993), Augusta Rose Ollenberger (1916–2006), and Paul (1918–1985). She was baptized into the Christian faith on 25 January 1914, and confirmed on 29 April 1928, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lincolnville. She attended Bethel School, Grade School No. 76, and St. John’s Lutheran School through the eighth grade. She spent most of her youth on a farm less than a mile from where she lived as an adult.

On 11 June 1935, at the age of 21, she married Arthur August Henry Groneman at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lincolnville. The couple had four children: Lois Ann Groneman, Vida Mae Gianakon, Arthur Wayne Groneman, and Nancy Nelson. Using a treadle sewing machine, she made all the girls’ dresses until they learned to sew for themselves. She spent her entire life on their farm east of Lincolnville, working alongside her husband milking cows, harvesting wheat, and hand-picking corn. They sold large quantities of eggs, raised ducks, and grew fresh produce. The farm did not receive electricity until 1946. In her free time, she enjoyed gardening, canning, baking, sewing, and tending to their fruit trees. She kept several flower beds, delighting in the cultivation of irises, poppies, and many other blooms. Her husband passed away on 2 May 1989.

At 108, her hearing had declined, but her eyesight remained sharp. After a fall in mid-2021 that resulted in a day-and-a-half hospital stay, she ventured out less frequently. However, she continued to move around her home with the assistance of a walker. Aside from a blood pressure medication, she took no other medications. She was a long-time member of St. John’s Lutheran Church, located in Lincolnville.

Esther Groneman passed away in Lincolnville, Kansas, USA, on 29 February 2024, at the age of 110 years, 73 days. She was survived by four children, six grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

Her age has not been validated.

ATTRIBUTION

* Esther Margareta Louise Krause Groneman – Find A Grave

* “Centenarian credits hard work for her longevity” – Marion County Record, 5 December 2013

* “Active mind keeps Lincolnville centenarian going” – Marion County Record, 16 December 2021

* “Celebrating her 110th birthday” – Marion County Record, 21 December 2023

GALLERY