Esther Oswalt's Obituary
Esther Oswalt, née Esther Mary Smith, born June 29, 1922 in Cincinnati,
Ohio, passed away on April 26, 2020.
Esther enjoyed writing poetry and playing basketball in her youth.
Thinking it would be the best path to helping society, she majored in
Sociology at the University of Cincinnati and came to Berkeley for a
Masters in Economics. She met her husband Robert while both were living
at the International House in Berkeley. She worked for The Heller
Committee for Research in Economics and organized programs at the YWCA
before leaving to devote herself to family life.
She was active in the Kensington PTA, including work with the Carnival and
hot dog days, and a long time member of the Unitarian Church and the AAUW.
Amid racial strife in the summer of 1969, she organized KPEG, a day camp
for the primarily white graduating sixth graders of Kensington Hilltop,
and the primarily black students of Pullman Elementary (now King) who
would be mixed together in Middle School the following year. Near the
bottom of Rifle Range Road in what is now Wildcat Canyon Park, the kids
got to know each other in activities including music, nature walks, and
native culture. Esther considered this her greatest achievement.
Once her younger child was a teenager, she felt she could return to her
efforts to help the world at large, and became a high school teacher for
14 years, primarily teaching math at Pinole Valley High School. Upon her
retirement she became a docent at the U.C. Botanical Gardens, leading
school groups through the wonders of its flora.
She was a pioneer of Kensington's unique neighborhood on Purdue Avenue,
and helped finish the house, built in 1954. Up until the end of her time
there in 2008, she slept on a back porch to be close to the owls and all
of nature. She spent her final years at Piedmont Gardens in Oakland.
She is survived by sons John of Sebastopol and Edward of Kensington,
granddaughter Ariel who is attending the University of Washington, and
more distant relatives in Cincinnati. She was predeceased by her husband
Robert in 2007.
What’s your fondest memory of Esther?
What’s a lesson you learned from Esther?
Share a story where Esther's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Esther you’ll never forget.
How did Esther make you smile?