Esther Jean Florence Heslop
March 9, 1932-Aug. 6, 2025
Atherton, California
Esther Heslop died peacefully on August 6, 2025, in Bend, Oregon at the age of 93. Known as “Mummy” to her children and their friends alike, and “Grummy” to her grandchildren, Esther’s life was marked by grand adventures, generous hospitality, and life-long friendships that spanned the globe. Her enthusiasm was contagious, her energy boundless and her laugh unforgettable to the end.
Born in Romford, England in 1932, Esther was the daughter of two Scots, highlander John (Jack) Thomson and Glaswegian Dorothy Foster, and baby sister to brother Ian. When Esther was seven, Jack set off for British Honduras (Belize) to assess a job opportunity, and then sent for the family to join him. With WWII breaking out, U-boats targeting Allied convoys, and the German bombing campaign beginning, Dorothy and the two children set sail from Bristol Harbor to cross the Atlantic on a lone banana boat, zig-zagging their way to their new home.
Despite the war, those years were filled with joy and adventure. Sisters Kay and Diana were born, and the children enjoyed exceptional freedom to sail and swim, ride horses and explore the beaches and tropical forest. After the war, Esther traveled to and from England via boats, planes and trains to attend boarding school at Milton Manor College in Sussex.
Esther met her beloved Rosse Heslop in Oxford, where he was earning his doctorate and she trained as an occupational therapist. They were married at Mansfield College, Oxford in 1955, and moved to Scotland, where their daughter, Jacqueline, was born. Over the next eight years, they would move many times, with stops in Evanston, IL, Boston, MA and Menlo Park, CA, where Dorothy was born. After a 3-year return to Ipswich, England, the family settled in Atherton, CA, where Elizabeth and John were born. Esther and Rosse’s California home was a magnet for guests, hosting family, friends and total strangers…all were welcome.
Esther immersed herself in a wide range of activities, including PTA and Scouts, her children’s athletic endeavors and teaching school children about the wonders of nature as an Environmental Volunteer. She was skilled at dressmaking, crafts and needlework, culminating in her magnum opus, eight exquisite needlepoint chair covers which her children now cherish. Esther put her nursing expertise and cheerful spirit to good use as a Pink Lady volunteer with the Stanford Hospital.
Gardening brought special joy to Esther and Rosse during their 65 years of marriage. The two created a magnificent English garden in Atherton, full of color and fragrance, and tended with love. When their garden was featured in the Country Almanac, Esther was asked how she planned out the colors and she quipped “flowers don’t clash”.
Esther’s cultural passions included the San Francisco Symphony, bridge, opera and museums. She worked with Stanford’s Committee for Art managing the Museum Bookstore, then took on the enormous task of running Stanford’s Treasure Market with her dear friend Lucille Lanza Hagstrum. The two paired up again to organize the first Rodin by Moonlight gala fundraiser in 1987, which continues to be held bi-annually, now called Museums by Moonlight.
Esther’s adventurous nature set her apart. An avid skier, hiker and beachcomber, she skydived at 69. With her grandchildren, she continued to mountain bike, river raft and outpace everyone well into her eighties. She was the original energizer bunny. She traveled to six continents, embracing no-frills adventures along with luxurious ones, including a trip to Africa to see her “favourite” animal, the giraffe.
Her British roots were never forgotten, with summer holidays visiting family and friends abroad, and some say Esther’s English accent grew stronger through the years. She celebrated English traditions, with Christmas crackers, real fruitcake, flaming figgy pudding, and trunks of dressing up clothes for English Charades. Esther joined the Daughters of the British Empire in the 1980s with her sister Diana. Her accent was much appreciated on Sundays at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Menlo Park, where she served as a lay reader. She threw wonderful tea parties and was quite attached to her nickname, Queen Esther, always accompanied by a crown on her birthday.
Left to remember the happy times are her children, Jacqueline Heslop McCook (Peter), Dorothy Pacini (Ken), Elizabeth Sheehy (Tom), and John Heslop; grandchildren, Anson (Zoë), JT (Erin) and Peetie McCook, Bryan Pacini, Emma, TR and Jackson Sheehy; great-grandchildren Calvin, Jack, and George, and many cherished family and friends worldwide.
A Celebration of Life will be held November 14, 2025.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you send memories, stories and photos of Esther to esther.heslop.memories@gmail.com.
