Esther E. Knutson

Inwood, Iowa- Esther Elizabeth Knutson, 78, of Inwood, passed away on Wednesday, December 1, 2021. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, December 4, at 11:00 AM at Porter Funeral Home in Inwood, with Rev. Sue Sinclair of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church officiating. Burial will follow at the Richland Cemetery of Inwood. Visitation, with the family present, will be held prior to the funeral from 9:30 to 10:30 at the Porter Funeral Home.

Esther Elizabeth was born on September 10, 1943, the daughter of Carl and Lizzie (Nein) Eckhardt. She was raised near Sedgwick, Colorado. She graduated from Sedgwick High School in 1961.

On June 2, 1963, she married Vernon Knutson in Sedgwick, Colorado. In 1966, they moved to back to the Knutson family farm outside of Inwood, Iowa. Esther was the assistant librarian at West Lyon from 1972 to 1986. She later worked in quality control at John Morrell. After retiring from John Morrell, she worked at the Larchwood Library until present. Esther loved her family and was the queen of the family. She loved having everyone over for family dinner especially when she didn’t need to make anything; she was a very passionate reader and played piano and organ at church. Esther was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran church.

She is survived by her husband, Vernon; her two children, Randy (Kristy) Knutson of Inwood and Connie Douglass of Larchwood; she was blessed with five grandchildren, Kyle (Megan) Knutson, Tyler Knutson, Alexis Knutson, Nicole (Jordon) Van Beek, and Jenae Douglass; 2 step grandchildren, Sydnee and Tyree Kammrad; 2 great-grandchildren, Raya Van Beek and Hattie Knutson and a third due in January; brothers, Herman Eckhardt and Loren Eckhardt of Mesa, Arizona; sister-in-law, Viola Eckhardt of Redding, California; in-laws, Mavis (Ron) Greenwood of Merrimack, New Hampshire, Lyla (John) Severson of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Roger Knutson of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; 13 nieces and 5 nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Reuben Eckhardt; sister-in-law, Ruth Eckhardt; parents-in-law, Olaf and Blanche; in-laws, Loren Knutson, Eleanor (Duane) Forest, Royce Knutson, Don (Maxine) Knutson, Bud Knutson, Betty Middendorp, and Joel Knutson; and niece, Diana Marie Eckhardt.