Funeral for Esther I. (Valdez) Hodges Heller will be 10:00 A.M. Friday, May 31, 2024 in Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Chapel with Deacon Tony Layton officiating.

Burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens.

Esther Heller, age 88, passed away Thursday, May 23, 2024 in Lawton. She was born on April 4, 1936, in Geronimo, Oklahoma to Marcello M. Valdez and Delores "Lola" Arce-Valdez. She attended Saint Mary's Catholic School for 12 years and graduated in 1954. After high school, she married David L. Hodges on October 20, 1954. The two were married for nearly 40 years until his death on August 6, 1994. Esther married Carrol "Ray" Heller on June 13, 2001, and they were married for nearly 17 years until his passing on April 7, 2018.

In her younger years, Esther worked at McLellans in Lawton. Esther and Dave were pillars in the Lawton community as Dave owned many businesses, including several Phillips 66 locations with his brothers and Hodges Tire and Wrecker Service. Esther handled the bookkeeping to support the family businesses. They loved horses and spent many days at the racetrack watching their horses race with their families. They both opened up their home to anyone who needed a place to stay or a meal.

After Dave's passing, Esther became active in The Ladies Auxiliary VFW Post #5263 and the South Central District Square Dance Federation – Solo Squares of Lawton where she met Ray Heller. They spent many hours dancing and enjoying spending time with friends they had made. They traveled often, especially to go to the Heller family reunions.

Esther was a talented woman in many ways. She was trilingual, speaking Spanish and French. She was a planner and spent countless hours planning for family events. Her creativity helped her win numerous costume and decorating contests. She loved to dress up for different events, and Ray was always a willing participant in whatever idea she had come up with for them to do. She was a natural salesperson - very competitive and was often recognized for top sales of car raffle tickets for her Ladies Auxiliary. She was a collector of various things, including bells from all over the world, dolls, teddy bears, angels, and Elvis memorabilia. She loved to garden and up until her death could be found outside doing yardwork. She was also a member of Holy Family Catholic Church.

The most important thing to Esther was her family, and as the matriarch of a large family, she leaves an enormous hole in their hearts with her departure.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Marcello and Lola Valdez, her husbands, David Hodges and Ray Heller, and sons-in-law, Terry Arterberry and Jack Williams.

She is survived by three sons, Michael (Monique) Hodges, Charles (Debra) Hodges, and John Hodges (Lacy Palmer); two daughters, Marcy Carstensen-Williams and Stella (Jim) Conway; two stepchildren, Jesse Heller and Lisa Heller; 16 grandchildren, Billy (Susan) Schroeder, Kellie Williams, Amanda (Mark) Simmons, Michael Hodges II, Brent Hodges, Kim (Chris) Church, David (Kristen) Carstensen, Ryan (Tanna) Carstensen, Vanessa (Matt) Huff, Steven Arterberry, Lauren Hodges, Lindsey Hodges (Linus), John Hodges, Jr (LJ), Lola Palmer Hodges, Joshua Roberts, Massimo Deluca; 24 great-grandchildren, Scott, Amber, Kyra, Stormie, Anna Grace, Halle, Savanna, Raynie, Dayton, Hudson, Connor, Cailin, Cameron, Chloe, Bentley, Harper, Carter, Tuff, Faith, Caleb, Ella Ann, Jackson, Lincoln, Zoey; three great-great-grandchildren; one brother Bernard (Barbara) Valdez and nephew Brian Valdez.