Esther Lucy Brinker

August 11, 1933 - July 17, 2016

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Cold Spring, MN for Esther Lucy Brinker, age 82, who died Sunday at Assumption Home in Cold Spring. Burial will be in the parish cemetery. Relatives and friends may call from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at the Wenner Funeral Home in Cold Spring. Parish Prayers will be at 4:00 p.m. Visitation will continue from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., Wednesday morning at the funeral home. Esther was born August 11, 1933 in Cold Spring, MN to Walter and Catherine (Ruegemer) Jungels. She grew up on a farm near St. Nicholas, MN and had many fun stories of growing up there. We heard stories about walking two miles to school each day – walking uphill both ways! In her earlier days she waitressed at the Jungels Café. Esther married Gilbert Brinker on May 10, 1955. Raising her family and gardening were her true passions. Anyone knowing Esther would remember her huge, beautiful gardens – seemed like an acre to us kids when we were sent out to weed it! She called her garden her “therapy”. She was a Master Gardener before they had a name for it. Dad was in charge of tilling the soil and mom did the rest! Esther loved playing cards, going to the casino, bingo and garage sales. She was a 40 year member of the Cold Spring VFW Legion Auxiliary, a member of St. Boniface Parish and Christian Women. Survivors include her husband, Gilbert Brinker; children, Linda (Don) Jacquemart, Lola (Dave) Vogel, Terry (Kim), Jesse (Patty), Jim, Bill (Gloria), Betty (Greg) Gruenes, Mary (Joe) Dvorak, Mark (Lisa), and Amy Bertram (John Veeder); siblings, Rita Schwartz, Harold (Lorraine), Walter Jr (Joyce). Stanley (Alice), Marvin (Linda) Jungels; 30 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; son, Timmer; son-in-law, Steve Morey; siblings, Mildred, Cletus, Patsy brothers and sisters-in-law, Jerome Schwartz, Norbert Hemmesch and Shirley Jungels.