Esther M. Harnish, 100 of Freeport died Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at FHN Memorial Hospital surrounded by family and her longtime friend Elnora Beckmeier. Born March 1, 1912 in Belleville, WI she was the daughter of John and Susie (Rieder) Hawes. She was a graduate of Freeport High School and worked for Fairbanks-Morse and Micro Switch. On July 28, 1939 she and Max Harnish were united in marriage, he preceded her in death on March 11, 1987. Essie had a love of sports that lasted her whole life. She played baseball and basketball in high school. She also played local baseball during WWII. Essie and Max enjoyed fishing, snowmobiling and skiing. On Friday nights for many years you could find Essie and her sister Mary at the Freeport High School football and basketball home games. For more than 20 years Essie played golf every weekday morning at Park Hills. The foursome known as Freeport's "Golden Girls" always walked and pulled their clubs. She was also a member of the Park Hills Evangelical Church and the Eastern Star. She is survived by her sister Mary Kirkpatrick of Freeport and three generations of nieces and nephews. Preceding her in death were her parents, husband Max, four brothers Glen, Ray, Earl, Jack Hawes and one sister Jennie Fogel.
The visitation and funeral services will be held at Walker Mortuary in Freeport, IL. Visitation will be on Friday, February 8th from 3-6 p.m. Funeral services will Saturday, February 9th at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be at the Oakland Cemetery in Freeport. A memorial fund has been established in her name.