Esther Mary Ross, 108, passed away Thursday, May 29, 2025, at Bethany Home in Sioux Falls.

Funeral Service will be 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at Faith Lutheran Church, 601 N. Cliff Ave, Sioux Falls, SD, with the family present one hour prior to the service to greet friends.

**The Funeral Service will be livestreamed by the church.  To view the service please click on this link; https://www.facebook.com/share/1AokafAjQ6/

Graveside service will be 11:00 am Wednesday, June 4, at St. John's Cemetery, Wolsey, SD.

Esther was born on May 1, 1917, to Fred and Magdalena (Kowalke) Hein in Cumberland, Wisconsin. She grew up on a farm near Wolsey, South Dakota. She worked at Bagley Hardware Store in Wessington, South Dakota.

Esther married Gerald Ross on May 2, 1939, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She was a member at First Lutheran Church in Volga and helped in several church offices. She was a past member of the Joy Club, the neighborhood birthday club, a 34-year member of the Volga Homemakers Extension Club, and the knit and stitch sewing club. She is a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, SD.

Esther enjoyed sewing, working on crossword puzzles, making quilts, and crocheting. She loved to watch her grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow and hear about all their activities.

Grateful to have shared Esther's life are her daughters, Carla Ann Griffis of Prescot, AZ, and Macel Ellen Self and her husband, Paul of Sioux Falls, SD. Her grandchildren, Gerald Kennedy (Carol) of NV; Todd Kennedy of AZ; John Griffis (Angie) of FL; Lori Griffis of AZ; and Colleen Brooks of MN; her step-grandchildren, Johnny, Danny, Andrea, and Lori Baum; her great grandchildren, Kyle, Caylenn, Josiah, Berkeley, Jessica, Nickie and JW; Her great- great- grand-children, Dakota and Kylie.

Esther is preceded in death by her husband, Gerald; son David Baum; son-in-laws Richard Kohlmeyer and Louis Griffis; sisters Helen Palmer, Lila Morse, and Burdette Meyer; brothers Vern, William, and Richard Hein.