Former educator and community volunteer Esther Cartwright passed away last week at 89 years old.
Cartwright passed away on Sept. 13, and funeral services will be held today, Sept. 18, at Trinity Episcopal Church sanctuary at 11 a.m. Visitation will be held beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Martin Hall.
Cartwright will be remembered as a dedicated wife, mother and grandmother. But her decades-long teaching career and commitment to serve the local community will also be part of her legacy.
Cartwright’s story in Yazoo City began 57 years ago when she and her family relocated to the area following many years across the nation and the globe. The Cartwright family began building the third and final plant of Marting Manufacturing Corp., an agriculturally based facility that her family founded.
Cartwright, and her late husband Cecil, were also one of the founders of Manchester Academy where she taught third grade. She was named the elementary Teacher of the Year by the Mississippi Private School Association in 1970. She was so dedicated to the education of children that it pulled her out of retirement three times. Many years after retirement in 2012, Esther was nominated and placed in the Hall of Fame at Manchester Academy.
During Cartwright’s retirement years, she was an avid knitter and member of the Knutty Knitters. Along with fellow knitter Jean Baskin, she began to create prayer shawls for people in the community who were battling illnesses.
Cartwright was an active member at Trinity Episcopal Church for over 57 years. She loved her church and its members, which led her to serve on the Vestry.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, 323 N. Main Street, Yazoo City, MS, 39194.
