Obituary of Esther Rose Folk

Esther Rose Folk, 89, of Milton, passed away peacefully at Mercy Hospital in Janesville, WI on Thursday, March 30, 2023. The daughter of Isadore and Anna (Hickner) Tragesser, she was born April 15, 1933 in Tipton, IN. She attended St. Joseph Academy in Tipton and graduated in 1951 from Tipton High School.

She married Robert C. Folk, son of the late Ralph and Kathryn (Good) Folk, on October 1, 1955 at St. John’s Catholic Church in Tipton, IN. After marriage, she moved to Janesville, WI and worked at Parker Pen until leaving to raise their growing family. Many years later, she returned to the workforce as an independent advertising agent with Bob and sold Avon. After the family moved to Fort Atkinson in 1974, she worked for Redi-Serve Foods for several years and later at Fort Atkinson Memorial Hospital as a Certified Nursing Assistant.

She was a dedicated servant of the Lord her entire life. An active and dedicated member of the Catholic Church, she could always be counted on for parish and school activities.  At St. Joseph in Fort Atkinson, she volunteered to tutor students and at St. Mary in Milton, she thoroughly enjoyed being a member of the Belles of St. Mary, a group whose mission is to help others and have fun. Throughout her life she enjoyed caring for her family selflessly and was always quick to help anyone in need. She loved to sew, was a wonderful cook (most famous for her molasses cookies) and later got into making cards. She enjoyed visiting with family and friends and loved an outing - be it a play, ball game or musical. Most visits involved games of Cribbage, Euchre, Blocks-of-Nine or Dominoes - with all the laughs (and creative scoring) that came with them.

Esther is survived by her children Jeri Fladmark, Tom (Ronda), Marce, Cris (Sue), Patti and Joe; grandchildren Tyler, Kevin (Jaime), Kim (Derek), Aaron, Owen, Annie, Alex (Kortney), Bailey, Justin, Jason and Tala; great-grandchildren Lexus, Melissa, Isabella, Dyllon, Jayde, Remy, Kora, Adeline, Amelia and Phoenix; great-great-grandchild Lydia. She is also survived by siblings Jane Folk, Theresa (Robert) Starke, Judy Collins, Barbara (Carl) Lipetri, Carol Mozzone, Agnes Hewitt, Eugene (Patty) and Edith (Thomas) Burke; brothers/sisters-in-law Alice Tragesser, George (Julie) Folk and Mike Folk; and many nieces, nephews and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; beloved husband Bob; siblings Louis, Beatrice Toler, Dorothy Koors, Margaret Gillespie, George, William, Norma Stiner, Jerome, Phillip and Leonard; brothers/sisters-in-law Joan Tragesser, Robert Toler, Robert Koors, Ralph Folk, Louis Gillespie, Jerry Collins, Larry Stiner, Phil Mozzone, Lloyd Hewitt and James (Margaret) Folk; son-in-law Scott Fladmark; and Wayne Bender.

Services will be held Thursday, April 13 at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Milton. The visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. The Rosary will begin at 10:45 with the Mass of Christian burial to follow at 11:00 a.m. Interment at St. Joseph Cemetery will follow at a later date.

Those wishing to make an expression of sympathy may wish to consider a memorial to St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception or Rainbow Hospice of Jefferson, WI. The family extends their heartfelt appreciation to the Mercy Hospital ICU team for their care and compassion. Nitardy Funeral Home is assisting the family.