Mrs. Esther "Essie" Burris Raun (Zangger), 94, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, loving daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother passed away peacefully on April 26, 2018.
Essie was the youngest child of Wilbert and Merle Zangger. Essie was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on November 9th, 1923. She was raised on a farm in North Loup, Nebraska, graduating from high school in 1940. She then went to nearby Hastings College, completing a Bachelor of Arts in 1944. After graduation Essie set off to Chicago where she worked as a secretary in the office of the atomic bomb physicist Enrico Fermi, handling top-secret material daily. In the fall of 1944 she began teaching at the high school in Minden, Nebraska. While teaching in Minden she met the love of her life, Ned Smith Raun, while he was on leave from the United States Air Force. After World War II ended, they married on August 18, 1946. They began their lives together in Lincoln, Nebraska until Ned completed his bachelor's degree. They spent the next eleven years on the Raun family farm in Minden, where Essie began her long love affair with planting colorful gardens, and chasing children (Kathryn, Barbara, Richard, Edward and William).
In 1958, Ned made a major career change, taking the family to Ames, Iowa, for graduate school. In Ames, Essie spent a great deal of time substitute teaching and taking care of their children. Larry joined the family while in Ames, completing Essie's goal of a half-dozen children. From that point forward Essie supported Ned's career in international agricultural research and development which took them to Mexico City, Oklahoma, Colombia (South America), Arkansas, and Washington DC. Essie served in a variety of instructional educational roles in all of these locations including serving as her children's English teacher. She also sang in church choirs wherever they lived. They established residence in Stillwater, Oklahoma upon their retirement in 1994. There, Essie sang in the Methodist choir, participated in PEO, volunteered at Stillwater Medical Center, took tap dancing lessons, and gardened. In 2010, Essie and Ned moved to Inverness Village Retirement Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Essie loved traveling and she loved the performing arts and worked them into her life whenever possible: attending live performances, playing the piano, choir, tap dancing, dressing up from her costume box, especially as a witch for Halloween. She loved writing an annual Christmas letter to family and friends and decorating for the holidays. She often carried out themed Christmases and family reunions. She loved playing all types of games, especially bridge, and she loved to laugh. Her color choices were as bold as her personality, preferring fiery hues of coral, red, pink and yellow. Essie found great joy in life and provided joy to those around her.
Essie was preceded in death by her husband Ned Raun, brother Charles Zangger, son Larry Raun, and son-in-law Jim Hromas. She is survived by her five children and their spouses, Kathi (Jim) Blazer, Barbara (Paul) Kroening, Richard (Kay) Raun, Edward (Gisela) Raun, and William (Tanya) Raun, and daughter-in-law Karen Raun; nephew Chuck (Carrie) Zangger; niece Jacqueline Zangger VanWagenen; fourteen Grandchildren: Stacey Wistuba, Scott Kroening, Lindy Hromas, Christi Hahn, Clay Raun, Brett Raun, Jamie Javed, Rich Raun, Billy Raun, Kelli Raun, Anne Raun, Kate Raun, Chris Raun and Dana Raun; and twelve great grandchildren: Emma, Tristan, Miles, Darcy, Leah, Kyleigh, Calvin, Demir, Madison, Truett, Aria and Sienna.
The funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at the Inverness Retirement Village, in Tulsa, OK with Chaplain Rick Davis officiating. A grave site service will be held at the OSCO cemetery in Upland, Nebraska, on Saturday, May 26th. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to support macular degeneration research at the Brightfocus Foundation, www.brightfocus.org < http://www.brightfocus.org >. Moore's Southlawn 918-663-2233 share memories at www.moorefuneral.com