Esther is deeply missed by her family and friends
Adopted Wexford woman Esther Hueto Madrid of Barcelona and Abbey Street, Wexford who died recently, is sadly missed by her family and many friends in Catalonia and Ireland.
Born in Barcelona on August 21, 1974, Esther lived between the town of El Prat (the location of Barcelona Airport, 12 kilometres from the city centre) and Wexford. She was the youngest of a family of three brothers and two sisters of Dolors and the late Juan Antonio with a gap of 12 years between her and her oldest sibling. She is survived by her mother Dolors; her brothers Juan Antonia, Xavier and Albert; her sister Anna Maria and by her nieces, nephews, aunts,uncles and extended family.
Esther attended the religious school where her mother and her sister had studied and later attended high school where she enjoyed a happy time with her schoolmates. She was the first of her friends to obtain a driving licence, an achievement which gave them all greater freedom of movement. She had a great zest for life and inspired others to have a good time. She wanted to enjoy every moment, especially the ones spent in the family villa at l’Ametlla de Mar, a fishing village in the coast of Tarragona.
Esther went to university but had to skip her studies when she was struck by illness, viral encephalitis, which left her with epilepsy as a side effect. She was only 22 years old.
As she was the youngest of her family, she became an aunt for the first time at the age of 18. She loved children and was devoted to her 11 nieces and nephews. She was very happy having them all around her and availed of every opportunity to spend time in their company. Esther was a very generous, positive and smiling person. She loved reading and discovered a late hobby in the kitchen as she endeavoured to become as good a cook as her mother.
In 2006, she came to Wexford on a student grant to learn English and surprised her family and friends back in Barcelona by falling in love with the place and with the kindness and warmth of the local people.
She decided to make Wexford her home and to start a new life here. She began working at Spectrum art shop in Selskar, where she met wonderful people and made many friends. She was happy in Wexford and considered herself a member of the local community. Her mother Dolors often visited her, usually staying for a number of weeks, especially in the summer, in order to enjoy the Art in the Open festival. One of her nephews stayed for a couple of months in 2010, attending an English course at the Slaney Language Center, where Esther had begun studying English when she arrived. The rest of the family then followed and they stayed together for a couple of weeks. Esther said that she had created more tourism in those couple of weeks than ever before! Another nephew will stay at the Slaney Language Center this coming summer but sadly, auntie Esther won’t be there.
Esther frequently travelled back to Barcelona. She was a Futbol Club Barcelona fan and tried to attend a football match during her return visits. She was also an activist for Catalonia’s independence. She never missed the huge demonstrations which attract more than one million people, on National Day, September 11, and also on the feast day ‘La Diada de Sant Jordi’ of Catalonia’s patron, Saint George on April 23, a very special day for romance and literature wheen the cities are full of books and roses.
While living in Wexford, Esther was hit by illness again when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and she received her treatment in Catalonia, flying regularly from Dublin to Barcelona for medical appointments. Even in the toughest moments of her devastating disease she always wanted to stay in Wexford. Her family suggested to her several times that she return to Barcelona but she never considered leaving her home and friends in Wexford. Following her unexpected passing on December 6, a celebration of Esther’s life took place at Macken’s Funeral Home in Wexford followed by a cremation ceremony in Dublin. Her family brought her ashes back to Barcelona where another funeral service was held for the family and friends who could not travel to Ireland. When Spring comes, her ashes will be scattered at sea, in the Mediterranean, at the place in the coast of Ametlla de Mar, where she spent the summers of her childhood and youth, and where her father, who passed away a year before, had the same farewell ceremony. Esther’s family would like to express their gratitude to the people of Wexford, especially to her friends for their kindess and support. ‘We can’t help but see how loving, kind and gentle Irish people can be’, said her sister Anna Maria.