Esther Vivian Fillmore DempseyJune 22, 1918 - March 17, 2015Esther Vivian Fillmore Dempsey passed away at her home at Sunny Ridge on March 17, 2015 at the age of 96. She was born on June 22, 1918 in Caldwell, Idaho. She was the oldest of four children born to John Alison and Elena (Anawalt) Tuckness of Jordan Valley, Oregon. As a young girl she lived in Jordan Valley where her father was a foreman on the Anawalt ranch. She spent many happy hours playing in Grandma Anawalt's attic, and having lots of fun with her many cousins when they came to visit. At the age of 12 she moved with her family to Caldwell, Idaho where she attended the old Lake View School (Caldwell District) and later on Caldwell High School. It was at Lake View School that she first met Donald Fillmore, whom she married on October 6, 1935. Together they raised four children, Donna (deceased) Tom, Vivian, and Ralph. During their married life they lived in Jordan Valley and Arock, Oregon, Kuna and finally settling in Nampa. In 1952 Esther became the manager of Fashion City, a little dress shop in downtown Nampa. When it closed in 1964 she began working at the J.C. Penney downtown store and later at Karcher Mall. She worked there until she retired in 1980. After they both retired they became "snow birds" and spent several winters in Arizona, which they enjoyed very much. Her life changed dramatically when Donald, her husband of 51 years, passed away on December 17, 1986. As always Esther made the best of the situation and began going on trips with five of her close friends. She was a member of Nampa First Church of the Nazarene, and volunteered for 18 years at the Nazarene care house, filling food boxes for the needy. She also helped serve at many funeral dinners. In 1989 her life turned another corner when an old friend invited her to a singles card party. It was there that she caught the eye of Bud Dempsey. After a whirl-wind courtship, they were married on August 6, 1989 with all their children, several grandchildren, and many well-wishers attending. Bud was a wonderful addition to our family. We enjoyed him and his family very much. They spent five wonderful years together before he passed away in 1994.For the last six years, Sunny Ridge has been home to Esther, where she enjoyed many friendships. She had a great attitude and always managed to make the best of any situation. She loved to travel and was always ready to go anywhere. She was a great hostess and always made her guests feel welcome. She loved getting together for the holidays, especially Christmas. But most of all she loved her family. She enjoyed doing genealogy and wrote two books about her family's history. She was in charge of the Tuckness Family reunion for many years and had never missed going to one in the 77 years they've had them. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to all who knew her and we will all miss her very much. She was preceded in death by her first husband Donald, daughter and son in law Donna and Bucky Buchanan, one brother, Ralph Tuckness, two sisters Iris Fackrell and Mary Hooper and her second husband Bud. She is survived by children Tom and Gloria Fillmore of Nampa, Vivian and Roger Smith of Payette, and Ralph and Kay Fillmore of Jordan Valley, Oregon; 11 grandchildren; 22 great grandchildren; and 8 great-great grandchildren; also Bud's children Karen Ritchie, Shirley and Larry McKinney, and John Dempsey. We would like to thank the staff at Sunny Ridge for the wonderful care and friendship they gave our mother and grandmother over the past six years. It is appreciated very much. A viewing will be held from 4:00-6:00 P.M. Monday, March 23, 2015 at the Nampa Funeral Home, Yraguen Chapel. Services will be held at 1:30 P.M. Tuesday March 24, 2015 at the Nampa Funeral Home, Yraguen Chapel. Burial will follow at the Canyon Hill Cemetery in Caldwell. An online guestbook is available at www.nampafuneralhome.com