Esther Wittenburg was born on a farm near Tripoli, Iowa on 27 September 1908 to Fred and Luise (Schmidt) Luebs. She had one older sister, Leota, who died in 1992 at the age of 89.

In 1926, she married Fred Bock and had 4 children with him: Virgil, Marlys, Delores, and Larry. Fred died in 1960 and she remarried in 1966 to Herbert Wittenburg, who died in 1982.

At the age of 112, she lived in her own home, with her eldest son, Virgil, who was 92 at the time.

Wittenburg died in Readlyn, Iowa, USA on 27 June 2021 at the age of 112 years, 273 days. She was survived by her four children, 6 grandchildren, 2 step-grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and four great-greatgrandchildren.