Esther Mae Ketcham Sept. 11, 1915 – May 12, 2011 Esther Mae Ketcham passed away in Crescent City, CA on May 12, 2011. She was 95. Esther had been a resident of Ocean Park for the last three years. Esther was born September 11, 1915 in Emerson, North Dakota to James and Florence (Hutchinson) Durfee. She married Willis Ketcham in Miles City, Montana on April 15, 1933. They made their home in Miles City where Esther worked as a cook for the Ten Spot Café and the Miles City Club. Willis preceded her in death in 1962; Esther moved to Brookings in 1963 where she worked as a cook for School District 17C for eleven years. Esther was the first cook at the Chetco Senior Center when they began the fundraising for the new building. Esther was a member of the Ladies VFW Auxiliary since 1942. She was also a longtime member of the Order of the Eastern Star, the Brookings Emblem Club #265 for 30 years and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Cape Sebastian Chapter. Esther enjoyed playing cards, crocheting, garage sale-ing and playing Bingo. She also liked cooking and baking; Esther took a lot of pride in teaching her grandchildren how to cook as well. Survivors include her son, Kenneth Ketcham of Brookings, his children, Karla, Kim, Kerry and Tim, daughter, Cleo Curtiss of Brookings, her children, Bruce and Karen, daughter, Wally Burnett and her husband, Tex, and her son, David, son, Stan Ketcham of Miles City, MT, his daughter, Tonya, daughter, Polly Blank, her husband, Michael of Pensacola, FL and their children, Joe and Kevin, and numerous great and great-great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Esther was also a special mom to Gerald Boss, Ron Gable, Carl Brum and Bonni Distler. She was preceded in death by her brothers, George, Claude, Wayne and Wallace Durfee and a sister, Elsie Ogletree. Memorial contributions may be made to the Ronald McDonald House, c/o Wally Burnett, PO Box 173, Brookings, OR 97415. Esther will be laid to rest beside her husband in the Custer County Cemetery in Miles City, Montana. No ceremony will be held. Willis and Esther will be commemorated as pioneers on the memorial wall at the Range Riders Museum in Miles City.
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