December 13, 1918 – May 25, 2016
She was the last. The last surviving member of the Sheridan High School Class of 1937 (as far as we know) and the last of the Fristam family who immigrated from Sweden and settled in Sheridan, Wyoming in 1910.
Ebba left Sheridan to visit the New York World's Fair in 1939 and to visit other Swedish family members living near Boston, Massachusetts. While there, she met William Bestgen, married him, had two children (Nancy and Bill Junior), and became an Easterner for 77 years. As a young family, they spent free time at their cottage on Cape Cod. During her life she travelled extensively in mainland Europe, to her family's homeland in Sweden, and most everywhere in the USA, especially repeatedly enjoying the national parks. Ebba visited Florida for a number of winters after her retirement as a clerk in the State Street Bank and Trust.
Last December Ebba turned 97. In spite of her lifelong struggles with Meniere's Disease, she often said, "I can't complain about my health because there's lots of people worse off than I am." Her enthusiasm for living heaped with daily doses of laughter kept her young. After sharing stories of her life, she'd say, "So much for my in-laws and outlaws."
Ebba donated time to many philanthropic causes and was a longtime and devoted member of Faith Lutheran Church in Quincy, Mass. S he understood friendship, never forgetting to visit or write the many, many people whose lives intersected with hers.
On one of her many trips to Sheridan, she visited the venue displaying Bernard Thomas' painting of The Battle of the Rosebud because she wanted to see what her high school Senior Prom date could do besides dance. From her father and sisters, she learned as a young child to play cards, especially cribbage. As an adult, bridge challenged and entertained her the most.
Ebba adored flowers, growing them, and frequently receiving glorious, huge bouquets of yellow and blue, Sweden's symbolic colors, from her son, Bill.
Preceding Ebba in death were her parents Arthur and Emelie Fristam and siblings Oscar, Greta, Agnes and Astrid. Ebba's husband William Bestgen, Sr. died in 1980, and her daughter Nancy died in 2004.
She is survived by her son Bill and his wife Ann, and a Boston area granddaughter Cheryl, who often cared for Ebba during her last years. Other survivors include three more grandchildren (Brad, Marc, and Lauren), and eight great-grandchildren. Relatives in the Sheridan area are Gin Scott of Dayton and Joel Ostlind of Big Horn.
The family will have a memorial service at the Lutheran Church in Quincy, Mass. on June 30.
Memorial contributions have been made to the National Temporal Bone Registry in Boston.
The Sheridan Press – June 14, 2016.