Esther Stander Neale died at age 97 on Thursday, December 27, 2018, at her home at Williamsburg Retirement Center in Baton Rouge, LA where she has resided since 2016. Esther was born December 25, 1921 in Opelousas, Louisiana. She graduated from Opelousas High School in 1938 and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from The Southwestern Louisiana Institute in Lafayette (now known as The University of Louisiana). After graduation from college, she joined the Navy in 1944 during World War II. She was a member of the WAVES for two and a half years. Esther and her five brothers were all in the armed forces at the same time during World War II. Esther moved to Hollywood in 1946, and she worked at The Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation for 12 years. In 1959, Esther was offered a job at Cape Canaveral in the photographic control office for Patrick Air Force base. She moved to Florida and worked for Pan American World Airways. She then moved to New York and later returned to California to work again in the movie industry. Esther moved to Houston in 1970 and worked in real estate with a national real estate firm, eventually starting her own firm, Esther Neale Properties. She retired from real estate in 2008 at the age of 86. She moved to Los Angeles to live with her brother Berile after the death of his wife. After Berile died unexpectedly in 2016, she moved to Baton Rouge. She enjoyed living at Williamsburg Senior Living Community where she made new friends, played poker regularly, and enjoyed outings to the casinos. Esther was generous, thoughtful, entertaining, caring, independent, industrious, and creative to name a few of her personal qualities. She loved all of her nieces and nephews as though they were her own. She enjoyed traveling to spend time with her family for reunions, weddings, graduations, and holidays, and she always remembered everyone's birthday. Esther was fun to be with and made friends wherever she went, and she maintained her friendships over decades. Whether she met a waiter in a restaurant or a health care worker in a medical office, the first thing she asked was their name, and she would remember those names! She loved to tell jokes and stories, talk about the stock market, current events in the world, and sports, especially LSU football. She wrote songs and sang them to her family and friends. Esther loved dogs, and dogs loved her; she would carry dog treats in her pocket to slip to the dogs when we weren't looking! Esther was preceded in death by her parents, Julius Stander and Bertha Bohrer Stander of Opelousas; her five brothers, Dr. Leonard H. Stander and Dr. Alvin A. Stander, both of Baton Rouge, O. B. Stander of Opelousas, Lloyd Stander of Verdi, Nevada, Berile Stander of Los Angeles, California, and a niece Julie A. Stander of Houston, Texas. She is survived by nieces and nephews, Lynn Stander Morgan, Alice Jo Stander, and Helen Alison Stander Taylor, all of Baton Rouge, Jane Stander Olsan of Shreveport, O. B. Stander Jr. of Tampa, Florida, Susan Stander Voitier and Burt Stander both of Opelousas, Jay Stander of Lafayette, Randy Stander of Los Angeles, California, Sharon Stander and Bert Stander of Reno, Nevada, Mike Stander of Verdi, Nevada, numerous grand-nieces, grand-nephews, and many friends. Aunt Esther was loved, and she will be missed. Visitation will be held at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government St., Baton Rouge, on Saturday, January 12, from 2:00 p.m. until Memorial Service at 3:00 pm. Interment at Roselawn Memorial Park, 4045 North St. in Baton Rouge.