HER2 Support Group Forums - Esthers memorial service

Here is Esther's Obituary ...she will be missed

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Biography

Esther was born on January 20th, 1961 at Parkview hospital in Riverside and joined the family of Isabel and Antonio Arteaga with her Brother Albert and Sister Edna. Shortly thereafter, her family moved to Buenos Aires while her Father pursued his SDA ministry. She recalled with fond memories the Argentinean foods her mother would prepare. Recently her sister discovered an Argentine restaurant in Upland. Esther was overjoyed to again taste the food she remembered from childhood, especially the empanadas, flan and sandwiches de miga. Edna recalls Esther being very talkative and funny as a child. That sense of humor could be seen carried into Esther's adult years.
Esther's parents returned to Glendale in 1970 and she attended Glendale Adventist Academy. She then attended La Sierra University in Riverside where she met Phillip Goodge. Phillip and Esther were married upon graduating from the university. Phillip joined the Air Force and was stationed in Montana. They had a child together and named him Justin Anthony. They divorced in 1988 and Esther and Justin moved to Riverside to be near their family. Justin became a Black belt in Karate at 7 years old. Esther would recall her many trips across the country going to Justin's Karate tournaments.
Esther became an accomplished business woman and worked for several telecommunication companies in Orange County. Esther joined the Sitzmarker Ski Club in 2000 and made many long term friends. She also joined an Athletic Singles Club in Orange County so she would have something to do after work and not be stuck in traffic. She had been scheduled to go on a weekend trip to Ensenada around 9/11 and was thinking of canceling. The trip coordinator begged her to go so she reluctantly agreed. There was a carpool down to Ensenada leaving out of Irvine and she was not about to sit in the back seats so she sat in the front passenger seat. Chris Butler was driving. Chris and her talked all the way down to Ensenada and almost totally ignored the rest of the passengers.
While staying at the Hotel, Esther and Chris seemed to be the only mature adults. On the trip back, Esther and Chris exchanged email addresses. A few days later Chris asked Esther to meet for dinner. Esther, thinking this was just friends meeting for a nice meal, was interestingly surprised to see Chris holding flowers and a box of chocolates.
Esther and Chris had been dating for several months when she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in December of 2001. She teamed up with Dr. Howard at Loma Linda University Hospital to battle the disease. The tumor was removed and she received chemotherapy. She was given a clean bill of health.
Chris and Esther became very active in the Sitzmarker Ski Club, got engaged and had a wonderful wedding June 29th, 2003 on a boat in Newport Beach harbor. Family, friends and many Ski club members attended. Chris's 10 year old son, from a previous marriage, was the ring bearer.
One of the gifts given by the Ski club was a Bed and Breakfast stay up in Big Bear. Esther and Chris liked it so much, they bought a cabin and enjoyed many weekends of skiing, boating and bicycling. Esther wasn't really one for exercising so she got an electric bicycle to keep up with Chris. Chris, huffing and puffing, had to then keep up with Esther who would hardly break a sweat.
In January of 2004, Esther was diagnosed with Liver metastasis. The Cancer had spread to her Liver. Once again, Dr. Howard came to her rescue. She was on Chemotherapy for many months and Esther kept telling Dr. Howard he needed to get her better in time for a ski trip to Aspen in February of 2004. In dealing with her Liver metastasis, Esther turned to the internet. She became involved in an email Cancer support group and made many dear friends across the country. Many of them were inspired by Esther's positive attitude and great knowledge in fighting her disease.
In September of 2005, Chris thought he would try investing in real estate in Las Vegas. Esther and Chris bought a small house in North Las Vegas. They enjoyed boating, and going to the Casinos. Esther especially liked seeing the big shows, such as Celine Dion, Cher and Elton John.
While on a trip to Las Vegas on New Year's Eve 2006, Esther noticed she was feeling nauseated and having trouble with her balance. On her return to Riverside, Dr. Howard ordered an MRI of her brain. Several tumors were found, especially one in her Cerebellum. Esther again turned to the internet, to research the best care for her situation. She found out about the best Neurosurgeon in the country and requested a consultation. His name was Dr. Black and luckily he was located at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. He prescribed targeted radiation to the tumors and teamed Esther up with another brilliant Neurosurgeon named Dr. Yu. Dr. Yu also was a Skier and enjoyed talking to Esther about her trips. The targeted radiation was somewhat successful but Dr. Yu. had to perform surgery to remove the tumor in Esther's Cerebellum.
Esther underwent brain surgery to her Cerebellum which left her with some balance and motor skill issues. She joined a rock climbing gym with Chris and found that this was great physical therapy and was also fun at the same time.
In 2007, Esther put together a Ladies only week at the Las Vegas house. The women she invited were breast cancer survivors from her email support group who came from all over the country. To this day, the surviving members recall the camaraderie they had that week. They were so thankful to Esther, for showing them her way of not letting cancer keep one from enjoying life.
Esther and Chris went on many cruises. In September of 2008, Chris and Esther took a Mexican Riviera cruise out of Long Beach. While in Puerto Vallarta, Esther just had to go on a four hour Extreme Adventure which included a mule ride, careening down zip lines and repelling down waterfalls. Her experience with the rock climbing resulted in her leading a group of 30 year olds. She was amazing that day.
Early in 2009, Esther's Liver metastasis returned. On Chris's 50th birthday in April, Esther took him to Disneyland with his son Blake and her nephew Tony. She was so sick that day but said she didn't want to ruin Chris's birthday.
Esther will always be remembered for living her life to the fullest and not letting her cancer get in the way. I will miss her dearly.

Love Always,
Chris

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Esther Arteaga Butler

Born:January 2, 1961Died:July 18, 2009
Memorialized by:

Montecito Memorial Park & Mortuary, Colton, CA
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