Esther Pancho's Obituary
Esther Lily Small Pancho passed away peacefully at home, on January 16, 2025. She was 99 years old.
Esther was born on June 4th 1925 in Harlem, New York. She was a graduate of New York University and worked as a hospital dietician in New York. In 1949, she journeyed southwest to the Tohono O’Odham reservation in Arizona, teaching home economics at Santa Rosa Boarding School. She met her future husband, John Pancho, in Arizona, a bus driver, who would bring students from surrounding villages to the boarding school.
John and Esther moved further west to southern California, where Esther taught for over 20 years at Camarillo State Hospital in the children’s unit. Oakland became her home in the 1990’s. She founded the African American Quilt Guild of Oakland whose goal is to educate the community about the cultural significance and importance of quilting.
A prolifically creative person, Esther painted city scenes of her beloved Harlem, filled canvases of Sonoran desert flora, and California coastline landscapes. She sculpted images of her grandchildren and sketched their portraits. Esther traveled the world, sailing down the Amazon in Brazil, collecting shells from Fiji, and touring sites in China. She gathered fabric from Ghana, Senegal, and the Ivory Coast, stitching together cloth pieces into beautifully crafted colorful quilts.
Esther will be remembered for her confident forthright manner, her pioneering spirit, and her many accomplishments.
Her daughters, Carol and Linda, mourn her passing. Her grandchildren, Jonathan (Alaina), Ashley (Lou), Maya (Drew), and Tina (Sarah) will kept her ubiquitous presence in their hearts. Great- grandchildren, Erin, Elizabeth, Austin, Emilia, Amari, and Liv will be reminded of her inspiring life story as celebrated in the book, Stories My Grandmother Told Me, by Gabriela Maya Bernadett. Cousins, nieces, and nephews, will remember Aunt Esther and the profound impact she had on her family.
In April, Esther will be laid to rest in Harlem, New York. She was preceded in death by her Mother, Lucy, Father, Henry, Brothers Harold and Alfonso, Husband, John, and grandmother, Mama Sarah.
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?