Esther Elizabeth Towne

Esther Elizabeth Moore Towne, 92, Louisburg, died Wednesday, May 7, 2008, in Olathe Medical Center after a short illness.

She and her twin brother, Lester Eugene Moore, were born July 5, 1915, in Santa Fe, Mo.

The daughter of William Paxton Moore and Fannie Myrtis Lawson, she was one of ten children, Ernest Robert, William Clair, Nellie Forrest, Charles Brainard, Jennie Dorothy, Clyde Wallace, Rena Myrtle, Lester Eugene and Francis Marie.

She and Glenn Sterling Towne were married July 17, 1932. They spent many years as a fixture on Main Street in Louisburg working side by side Monday through Saturday in their small grocery, Towne’s Market. Sundays were always set aside as a time for church and family.

Mr. and Mrs. Towne were the parents of three children.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Glenn Towne, and two sons, Joseph William Towne and Charles Wallace Towne, along with eight brothers and sisters.

Survivors include her daughter, Charlene Bodenhamer of Whippany, N.J.; a sister, Francis Marie Bell of Clinton, Miss.; six grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and nine great-great-grandchildren.

Services were Saturday in the First Baptist Church in Louisburg. Burial was in the Louisburg Cemetery. Arrangements were by Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home of Louisburg.

Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church, 406 S. Vine St., Louisburg, KS 66053.