Esther Abend

April 23, 1912 - April 13, 2014

Esther Abend, age 101, died on April 13, 2014, after a life well lived. Born in Dubienka, Poland, on April 23, 1912, to Yehoshua and Nahama Greenfeld, she was educated in Lublin, Poland. She married her childhood sweetheart, Joseph Abend, in Dubienka in 1936 upon his return from Israel and just days before he left for the United States. She immigrated to join him two years later in 1938. They enjoyed a loving marriage of forty-one years until Joseph’s death in 1977. Esther was devoted to creating a good life for her family. She observed Jewish rituals and kept a kosher home. She took special pleasure in the accomplishments of her family. Esther worked in several family businesses and received recognition for her many years of volunteer service at Menorah Hospital gift shop. She was a volunteer for Hadassah and Women’s American ORT, and she supported organizations in Israel. Esther was blessed with two sons: Stephen and the late William Abend, and their wives Barbara and Phyllis Abend; grandchildren Nicholas Abend and his wife Gayle Chesley, Katherine Abend and her husband Kevin Wallace, Sarah Abend, Lynda Freshman and her husband Benjamin Freshman; and great grandchildren Jack and Alexander Abend and Anna Wallace. She is also survived by two nephews and their wives in Israel, Moshe and Mira Greenfeld and Noham and Rinat Greenfeld, as well as many relatives in Kansas City and throughout the United States. May her memory forever be a blessing. Funeral services will be held at Louis Memorial Chapel on Monday, April 14 at 10:30am with burial to follow at Sheffield Cemetery. Due to Passover, the family will not have Shiva but will receive family and friends at the home of Stephen and Barbara Abend from 2:00pm to 5:00pm following the funeral. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Allen Abend Scholarship Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation, or to Hadassah or to Congregation Beth Torah.