Esther Browning, of Kirkland, passed away June 23, 2010.

Esther was born in Stuttgart, Germany on Aug. 30, 1921 to Herman and Bertha (Mezger) Loeffler. She came to America with her parents, older brother Herman and younger brother Werner and settled in Salt Lake City, Utah. She attended East High School and went to business school. She and her family moved to American Fork.

Her working career began at Walker Bank in Salt Lake where she met and married Charles Browning, March 22,1941. Esther later worked for U.S. Steel in Provo, Utah for 10 years and then for Kaiser Aluminum in Spokane for 30 as secretary for the chief chemist until her retirement in 1982. In 1950, Charles was transferred to Spokane. Esther and Charles lived in Spokane for 47 years.

After Charles passed away, Esther moved to Kirkland in 1997 where she lived close by her grandchildren. Esther was an active member of the Hobnailers Hiking and Walking group and logged thousands of miles with this group and then scouted out her own trails in the Kirkland area. Esther was a fantastic cook and master gardener.

She is survived by her daughter, Carole Browning; grandchildren, Brian, Gina and Carole Lynn Breeden; two nephews, Herman and Roy Loeffler and neice, LaVann Loeffler Reinhold; two cousins, Gerhard Mezger in Ohio, and Werner Mezger, Germany. The family would like to thank Paul and Ruth Roush, Brett and Elizabeth Johnson, Nancy and Steve Holdaway and the caregivers at Aegis in Kirland and Evergreen Hospice. Memorial donations can be made to the Shriner’s Crippled Children’s Hospital in Spokane.

Friends are invited to share memories and sign the family’s on-line guest book at www.flintofts.com.