Esther Irene (Pugh) St. John

Esther I. St.John, 84, of Lillington, NC, passed away peacefully on March 6, 2020, at home after a valiant battle with cancer.

Esther was born May 31, 1935 in Huntington County, Indiana, to Carl and Georgia Pugh.

After graduating from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago in 1956, she married Donald Martin St.John on June 23, 1956 at Warren Baptist Church in Warren, Indiana.

A mother to six children and foster mom to many more, Esther also worked as a unit secretary at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, NY (where she received a Secretary of the Year award) until her retirement in 1995.  She moved to NC in 2005 and was a member of Lillington Baptist Church.

After experiencing a stroke in 2011 Esther struggled with aphasia, the inability to vocalize her thoughts.  By nature a "talker", this was extremely frustrating to her (and the family), but thanks to her never-give-up spirit and the help of Triangle Aphasia Project, she found new ways to communicate.  Then, diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2015, she once again determined to fight!  She was an inspiration to everyone, constantly smiling in spite of the challenges she faced.

Survivors include her husband Martin, brother Jerry (Indiana), sisters-in-law Kathy and Sharon (both of Indiana), daughters Deborah (NY), Cheryl (NY), Lynette (WI), Amy (OK), and Mary Jo (Lillington, NC), son Donald (CA), 14 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.

Esther had a deep abiding faith in Jesus Christ as her Savior and is now with Him in Heaven for eternity.   Family and God were her anchors and her greatest wish and lifelong passion was to see her children and friends know they could be sure of their eternal destiny also.  Her favorite scripture verse was John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life". 

Arrangements are being handled by O'Quinn-Peebles Funeral Home in Lillington, NC.  A celebration of life service will be held on Monday, March 16 at 11 am at Lillington Baptist Church.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to Lillington Baptist Church (PO Box 670, Lillington, NC 27546), or Triangle Aphasia Project Unlimited (171 High House Rd, Suite 11, Cary, NC 27511).

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