Esther "Essie" Raun 

April 26, 2018

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Esther “Essie” Raun, 94, passed away on April 26, 2018. She was born to Wilbert and Merle Zangger in Sioux Falls, SD, on November 9, 1923, and was raised on a from at North Loup, NE. Following high school, she attended Hastings College (NE) where she completed a bachelor’s degree in 1944. Essie went to work in Chicago as a secretary in the office of the atomic bomb physicist Enrico Fermi. In the fall of 1944, she began teaching at the Minden High School (NE) where she met her future husband Ned Raun. Essie and Ned were married on August 18, 1946, and lived in Lincoln until Ned completed his bachelor’s degree. The next eleven years of their married life were spent on the Raun family farm in Minden. During this time, five of their six children were born, including Kathryn, Barbara, Richard, Edward, and William. In 1958, the Raun family moved to Ames, IA, where Ned completed graduate work. Son Larry joined the family in Ames. Ned’s career took the family to Mexico City, Oklahoma, Colombia, Arkansas, and Washington, DC. Essie held a variety of instructional educational roles in each of these locations. In 1994, the Rauns established residence in Stillwater where Essie volunteered in a variety of organizations. Essie was preceded in death by her husband, Ned; brother, Charles Zangger; son, Larry Raun; and son-in-law, Jim Hromas. She is survived by five children: Kathi (Jim) Blazer; Barbara (Paul) Kroening; Richard (Kay); Edward (Gisela); and William (Tanya). She is also survived by daughterin-law, Karen Raun, several nieces and nephews, 14 grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren.