Cristelle Jean Essig

March 8, 1931 - February 28, 2020

Cristelle Jean (née Stewart) Essig, 88, of Fort Dodge passed away on Friday February 28, 2020 at Friendship Haven. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 5 at the Gunderson Funeral Home with a later private burial at Memorial Park Cemetery. A visitation will be held from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on the same day and also at Gunderson. Cris was born on a farm near Callender on March 8, 1931 to Albert and Edith (née Blake) Stewart. She grew up on the farm and graduated from Callender High School and Tobin Business College. She was united in marriage to Edward Essig on November 7, 1953 at Epworth United Methodist Church in Fort Dodge. Cris was a stay-at-home mom while her children were in school. She later returned to the workforce and retired from Smithway Motor Xpress in 1996 after two decades of payroll processing. She was a member of Epworth United Methodist Church. Cris enjoyed gardening, jigsaw puzzles, and good conversation. She is survived by son Dennis Essig and wife Sharon of Bolingbrook, Illinois, son Daniel Essig of Cardiff, California and sister Marlene Garman of Swisher. She was preceded in death by her husband Edward in 2015, her parents, Albert and Edith Stewart, brothers, Siebert, Donald, Ernest, and Earl Stewart, and sisters, Dorothy Babian, Elsie Swanson, Fern Whannell, Gladys Stewart, and Lois Dorothy.