Esther Wiiliainen

Esther Kangalos Stokes Wiiliainen , 80, of Hibbing, Minnesota, passed away on June 18, 2015, surrounded by family and friends.

Esther was the sixth of eight children and one of seven daughters born to George and Sally (Novoselac) Kangalos which, she said, required her to become feisty.  She grew up in Hibbing and graduated from Hibbing High School in 1953, where she loved cheerleading but disliked math.   She attended Hibbing Junior College and worked at Ziegler Company.   She married Raymond Allen Stokes, Jr. in 1957, and they raised four children in Graysher until his death in 1969. She married Henry “Hank” Wiiliainen in 1971, and they raised their blended family out on First Avenue Road until the children all finally moved out on their own.

Esther loved her family, her friends, and having fun.  She never missed a track meet or sporting event that included any of her children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren, and took great pride in saving all the newspaper articles showing their names in the results.  Esther enjoyed spending winters in Las Vegas with her husband, Hank, and the many Minnesota snowbirds they met there.  She spent the last 12 years living at the Androy Apartments, where she built a community of good friends and loved nothing more than to “go across the street” to eat at the Sportsman’s Café, where she enjoyed the fresh turkey sandwiches on Sundays that in the future should be named after her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Sally Kangalos; brother Tom Kangalos; sisters Elaine (Blackie) St. Julien and Katherine (Bob) Badten;  husband Raymond Allen Stokes, Jr., and husband Henry Donald Wiiliainen.

Esther is survived by a large and loving family who will miss her terribly: sisters Evangeline (Kenny) Steinbrink, Pauline (Bertil) Horseng, Marie (Jim) Makowski, and Vicki (Dick) Barone; children Jayson Stokes, Susan Stokes (Paul Sherman), Jeffrey Stokes (Marsha Hamre), Ron Wiiliainen (Rhonda), Kim Stokes (Gary Cerkvenik), Don Wiiliainen (Jodi), and Connie Wiiliainen Mayrand; beloved grandchildren Jakob and Grayson Stokes, Bella Stokes, Anna, Nolen, Minda, and Franz Sherman, Andrew Stokes, Amanda Stokes Ciochetto (Paul Ciochetto), Hana Wiiliainen, Karl Jacob (Catherine Lasota) , Sophie Stokes Cerkvenik, Maria Stokes Cerkvenik, Sam Stokes Cerkvenik, and Eli Stokes Cerkvenik (Maddy Powers), Tiffany Mayrand, and Alexander Mayrand (Rachel); wonderful great-grandchildren Autumn Stokes, Ashley and Taylor Ciochetto, and Gabriella and Alexis Mayrand; and numerous nieces and nephews and lifelong friends.

A service celebrating Esther’s life will be held at 2 PM on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, at St. James Episcopal Church in Hibbing.

Visitation will be held Wednesday from 12:30 until 2:00 at the church.

Interment will be at Maple Hill Cemetery.

Arrangements are with Dougherty Funeral Home in Hibbing. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.doughertyofhibbing.com.