Esther Margaret Friedheim Masters

Esther Margaret Cecilia Friedheim Masters At home in the lovely woods of Moccasin Branch near Saint Augustine, Florida, Esther Margaret Cecilia Friedheim Masters, died on Sunday morning, August 2, 2020, from a combination of the Wuhan virus & her advanced age of 84. Not coincidentally, in that Sunday’s lectionary reading, the Prophet Isaiah summoned all who are thirsty & hungry to come drink & eat God's provisions for free. Likewise, in the gospel reading, Saint Matthew reported the miraculous feeding of thousands when Jesus told his disciples not to disperse the crowd, but rather to feed them from their own modest stash of victuals, consisting of just 5 loaves of bread & 2 fish. That was Esther Margaret, rarely spending any resources on herself in order to be able to share with people who needed it more. Esther was born on November 15, 1935 in Belle Glade, & was quite athletic in her youth, specializing in tennis & cheerleading. Esther earned a BA in home economics from Florida State University. After meeting as summer camp counselors at Our Lady of Good Counsel Camp, Esther Friedheim & David Masters were married at Saint Philip Benizi Catholic Church in Belle Glade on December 28, 1963. Esther & David moved to Miami to start their family & were long-time members of Visitation parish & leaders of the Legion of Mary. Ever the feisty Catholic woman of action, on the Sunday immediately after the Roe vs Wade atrocity, Esther co-founded a parish-based Respect Life group to defend God’s vulnerable, unborn children. Esther & David raised their family in Miami Gardens from 1967 to 1998 until they retired to Elkton. Esther blessed our nation & world by energetically encouraging the manifold vocations of her children & grandchildren: some medical, some military, some ecological, some ministerial, some didactic, some missionary, some artistic, some athletic, some musical, some entrepreneurial, & some counseling. Esther enjoyed watching tennis & college football, especially the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. She aspired to one day see in person the many shades of green of Ireland. Esther was preceded into eternal life by her devoted husband of 51 years, David Albert Masters. Esther is survived by her siblings, Joseph Friedheim, Catherine Moore, Jeanette Friedheim, & Louis Friedheim, her 8 children, 2 daughters-in-law, 2 sons-in-law, 20 grandchildren, a host of nieces & nephews, in addition to the babies that she fostered after her own children were mostly grown up. Esther’s survivors include: Joseph Masters (wife, Zum Tran Masters, children, Mai & Thai); Dr. David Masters (wife, Dayane Valenzuela Masters, sons, Rubén & Marcos); Lt. Col. Mary Masters Martindale (husband, Col. Jeffrey Martindale, daughters, Cecilia & Rachel); Julie Masters (sons, Nicolas & Christopher Anderson); Thomas Masters; Dr. Therese Masters (children, Florinda, David, & Tomás Cano); Chris Masters Fisk (husband David Fisk, children, Rita, Jonathan, Monica, Joseph, Peter, Dominic, Andrew, Bridget, & unborn baby); & John Masters. For those who will not be able to attend Esther’s funeral in person at Saint Ambrose Church, Saint John’s Family Funeral Home will livestream it via https://iframe.dacast.com/b/156599/c/iframe.dacast.com/b/156599/c/549019 at 10 AM on Saturday, August 22, 2020.

Esther Margaret Friedheim Masters

November 15, 1935 - August 2, 2020